Elios

Elios founders Nicola and Guido raising glasses of natural wine in Sicily

The short version

Two friends, Nicola and Guido, revived their families' farmland in the Alcamo hills in 2015 to make low-intervention wines from native Sicilian grapes, plus olive oil and honey.
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Elios is the story of two friends who walked away from jobs that left them unsatisfied to rebuild something real on their families' land. Nicola and Guido wanted wine rooted in the culture and soil of Sicily, and they have made it on their own terms.

Backstory

In 2015 Nicola and Guido decided to restore their families' farmland to its former glory and turn their passion for natural wine into a working farm. The project grew out of a desire to create something authentic, drawn directly from the land they grew up on.

The Region

The farm sits in the hills of Alcamo, between Palermo and Trapani in western Sicily. It is classic Sicilian country, warm and sun-soaked, where the two have committed to working only with native grape varieties.

Vineyards and Farming

Elios is a mixed farm in the old Sicilian sense, producing not only wine but also olive oil and honey on the property. The growing is low-intervention, free of chemicals and additives, and the estate opens its vineyards to visitors for tours and tastings.

Winemaking

In the cellar the pair follow a low-intervention path, eschewing chemicals and additives so the indigenous grapes can speak plainly. Some reds are aged in chestnut, and their traditional-method sparkling rests more than 24 months on the lees.

The Wines

The range is built entirely on native Sicilian grapes: a glou-glou style light red from Nerello Mascalese, a chestnut-aged red from Nero d'Avola, an orange wine from Catarratto, and a long-aged traditional-method sparkling, also from Catarratto.

Natural Winemakers

Maria and Sepp Muster, natural wine producers from Leutschach in Southern Styria, Austria, standing with the next generation of the family
Maria and Sepp Muster farm ten hectares of Demeter-certified biodynamic vineyards above Leutschach in Southern Styria, crafting textural, mineral whites from the region's distinctive Opok marl soil.
Possa, natural wine producer in Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
Heydi Bonanini practices heroic viticulture on terraced cliffs above Riomaggiore, producing Cinque Terre whites and the legendary Sciacchetra from rescued indigenous varieties.
Weingut Niklas, natural wine producer, in his vineyard in Alto Adige, Italy
Weingut Niklas is a family-run Alto Adige estate in Kaltern where Dieter Solva farms 7 hectares of calcareous mountain soils to produce precise, aromatic whites and structured Lagrein reds that have carried the family name for over 50 years.

What is what?

Is natural wine the same as organic? What is biodynamic, then? Vegan? Sure. Let's explore some of these concepts together.

What are you drinking tonight?

Explore the cellar, or let us choose for you with a curated natural wine club shipment.