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Etnella

Attia Nerello Mascalese 2020

Price: $25.95
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Tasting notes

The Attia shows what Nerello Mascalese looks like with minimal intervention and a light touch on extraction: pale ruby, tart cherry, wild strawberry, and a flinty volcanic edge that you feel more than see. It's the kind of wine that makes you reach for another glass before you've finished thinking about the first.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Wild StrawberryTart CherryTomato LeafFlint
  • Style: Light-bodied red; pale ruby; tart cherry, wild strawberry, volcanic mineral; 14% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Nerello Mascalese; organic; volcanic basalt and ash soils; north/northeast Etna slopes, 600-1000m
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation; short skin maceration; bottled unfined and unfiltered; max 30mg/L sulfites
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; light chill optional; 15-20 min decant or serve from a carafe
  • Pairing: Pasta alla Norma, grilled swordfish, aged Sicilian pecorino, cured meats
  • Similar To: For fans of Gamay or light Pinot Noir who want volcanic terroir and savory acidity

The Attia Nerello Mascalese is a 100% Nerello Mascalese from Davide Bentivegna's Etnella estate, sourced from multiple parcels across the north and northeast slopes of Mount Etna. Vineyards sit between 600 and 1000 meters above sea level on volcanic basalt and ash soils, with vines trained in the traditional alberello (bush-vine) method. Many parcels are ungrafted, with some vines over 100 years old.

The wine undergoes a short maceration on the skins, fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. Sulfite additions are kept to a strict minimum in line with Vinnatur guidelines — no more than 30mg/L total on reds. The result is a wine that keeps Nerello's transparency front and center: pale ruby, light-to-medium body, and driven by acid rather than extraction.

On the nose: tart dark cherry, wild strawberry, and tomato leaf, with a flinty, mineral backbone from the volcanic soils. The palate is fresh and savory, with cranberry-like acidity, some grip on the finish, and a hint of citrus pith. It drinks closer to a Gamay or light Pinot Noir than to a structured southern Italian red.

Classified as Terre Siciliane IGT, as Etnella's wines are produced outside or above the strict Etna Rosso DOC boundary — a designation that gives Davide flexibility to work across his 7 contrade without blending constraints.

A strong match for tomato-based pasta dishes like pasta alla Norma or a simple pomodoro with ricotta salata. Works well alongside grilled swordfish or tuna — Nerello's acidity and savory mineral edge handle meaty fish confidently. Also good with aged Sicilian pecorino or a plate of cured meats.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Nerello Mascalese
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 14%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Sicily
Appellation:, Terre Siciliane IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Etnella

Davide Bentivegna founded Etnella in 2008, returning to his roots near Catania after a career at Siemens. He had no family land or winemaking background. His first vintage was bottled in 2010 from a vineyard in Contrada Galfina, Linguaglossa. Over the following years he acquired additional parcels and now works across approximately 7 hectares of vines spread over 7 contrade on the north and northeast slopes of Etna, including Presa, Linguaglossa, Solicchiata, Passopisciaro, and Randazzo. His winemaking education came partly through academic study and partly through relationships with natural wine producers including Frank Cornelissen, Aldo Viola, and Stefano Bellotti.

All vineyards are farmed organically, with minimal use of copper and sulfur and no synthetic inputs. Vines are trained in the traditional alberello (bush-vine) style on terraced land with dry-stone walls built from local volcanic stone. Planting density ranges from 6,000 to 9,000 vines per hectare, and yields are kept low — around 30 to 50 quintals per hectare. Davide follows moon phases to guide vineyard and cellar work, and the estate is affiliated with Vinnatur, the natural wine association that sets strict maximum sulfite limits.

Fermentation is spontaneous using indigenous yeasts, with no temperature control additions. Etnella's red wines use short macerations on the skins for the Attia-level cuvees, keeping extraction light and the wines approachable young. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, with total sulfites capped at 30mg/L on reds per Vinnatur's disciplinary. Davide produces approximately 17 distinct cuvees across his parcels, including parcel-specific single-contrada wines at the top of his range.

Wine region

Sicily, Italy

Mount Etna sits on the eastern edge of Sicily, rising to over 10,800 feet as Europe's largest active volcano. The wine-producing zone wraps around the volcano in a horseshoe arc, with the most celebrated vineyards concentrated on the northern and northeastern slopes in the townships of Castiglione di Sicilia, Linguaglossa, and Randazzo. Vineyards range from roughly 1,000 to 3,600 feet elevation, placing them in a genuinely cool-climate zone despite Sicily's Mediterranean latitude. The combination of mountain altitude, volcanic soils, and proximity to the Ionian Sea creates significant diurnal temperature shifts — averaging 16 degrees Celsius day-to-night — which preserve acidity and slow ripening deep into autumn.

Etna's soils are volcanic sand and ash from successive lava flows, each contrada defined by a specific eruption era and mineral composition. This makes Etna one of the few Italian regions where two vineyards 500 meters apart can produce wines of markedly different character. The Etna DOC was established in 1968 and covers Etna Rosso (minimum 80% Nerello Mascalese) and Etna Bianco (minimum 60% Carricante). Producers whose vineyards fall outside the DOC boundary — often at higher altitudes — bottle under Terre Siciliane IGT, which permits 100% Nerello Mascalese. Volcanic soils naturally resist phylloxera, so many parcels are ungrafted, with pre-phylloxera vines over 100 years old still in production.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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