I Custodi (Salvo Foti), Etna Bianco 'Ante', 2021

Grapes growing on the flank of an active volcano is the kind of thing that makes wine feel like an adventure again. I Custodi are exactly what their name says: the keepers of Etna's old vines, an estate founded in 2007 with the great traditionalist Salvo Foti guiding the cellar. This white comes from Carricante on the volcano's eastern slope at 750 meters, where the soil is black volcanic sand and the wind never quits. It's raised entirely in steel to keep the fruit taut and the mineral bite intact, then given a year in bottle before release. Etna made honest and mineral, with nothing to hide behind.