Robert Camuto: Letter from Europe
\nWinespectator, post Jan 23, 2017<\/p>\n
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Twin brothers Salvino and Antonio Benanti, 42, have spent their lives side by side: growing up in Sicily, studying at business school, working banking jobs in London and then returning to Sicily to take over the family winery.<\/p>\n
In 2012, their father, Giuseppe, handed them Benanti, one of the most important precursors for quality wineries in the now-fashionable region of Mount Etna, on the slopes of the island\u2019s volcano. At the time, Benanti had lost some of its identity, producing too many wines of varying quality.\u00a0The brothers knew what they wanted to do and wasted no time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day after our father transferred ownership to us, we started implementing our brutal refocusing program,\u201d Salvino says.<\/p>\n
Brutal? Over the protests of their father, the brothers sold off vineyards in southeastern Sicily along with mediocre performers on Etna, dramatically slashed the number of bottlings from more than 20 to eight, and eliminated use of international varieties.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur idea is to invest in our core wines,\u201d says Salvino. Those that Benanti does best are its elegant, single-vineyard Etna \\agships, including the Etna White Superiore Pietramarina (2012, 91 points, $50), made from the ancient native variety Carricante, and two reds\u2014the Etna Rovittello (2012, 90 points $46) and Serra della Contessa (2012, 91 points, $50)\u2014made from local grapes Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio.<\/p>\n
Standing in the fog amid the terraced vines on Etna\u2019s sea-facing eastern slopes from which they make Pietramarina, Salvino adds, \u201cWe want to be in the right places with the right vineyards.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Benantis are now expanding from the original 3.5 acres of 80-year-old vines used to produce Pietramarina. This winter, they will plant another 6 acres on adjacent abandoned plots that they purchased and cleared. They plan to use fruit from the new vines for Pietramarina beginning in 2025.<\/p>\n
Similarly, on Etna\u2019s cooler north face, the brothers are expanding from the 2 acres of old vines used for the Etna Rovittello to neighboring vineyards. Grapes from the original vineyard will go into a longer-aged Rovittello Riserva.<\/p>\n
Benanti began as the hobby of wine-loving Giuseppe Benanti, now 71, a third- generation Catania pharmacist who built a successful international ophthalmological products company. He saw Sicily, and Mount Etna in<\/p>\n
particular, as not living up to their viticultural potential. In the late 1980s, he began investing in a dream of making great wines.<\/p>\n
Benanti employed a talented young Sicilian enologist, Salvo Foti, and the two began experimenting with international varieties, such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as local grapes. \u201cThey were experimenting almost from scratch,\u201d says Salvino. \u201cMy father didn\u2019t have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
From their frst vintage of Pietramarina, 1990 (released in 1994 under the Tenuta di Castiglione label), the fresh, salty, complex white\u2014unique on Sicily\u2014 was a hit in Italy.<\/p>\n
Benanti\u2019s success garnered lots of attention and free advice. The legendary Italian enologist Giacomo Tachis counseled him to \u201cplant Pinot Noir everywhere.\u201d Results from Pinot Noir were not stellar; the last of Benanti\u2019s Pinot vines will be pulled out this winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough my father was an early mover on Etna, he was perhaps too early a mover,\u201d says Salvino, trim, with dark eyes, hair and beard\u2014the same good looks of his father and brother. \u201cMy father didn\u2019t always buy the best vineyards. He bought what was available at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another mistake, the twins say, was expanding outside of Etna, just as critics and consumers were recognizing it. \u201cWhile others were following my father\u2019s footsteps on Etna,\u201d says Salvino, \u201che was looking elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
A decade ago, the elder Benanti bought land in southeastern Sicily, where he planted more than 60 acres of Nero d\u2019Avola and international varieties. The brothers sold those vineyards three years ago to help fnance Benanti\u2019s consolidation on Etna.<\/p>\n
Today the winery farms about 30 acres, producing close to 13,000 cases annually. For the past three years, Foti\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Enzo Cal\u00ec, has led the winemaking.<\/p>\n
The changes seem to be working. Benanti wines\u2014which fve years ago were exported only to Japan, Norway and one U.S. state\u2014now ship to 30 countries. American distribution has expanded from New York only to 11 other states. At the same time, the company\u2019s books have moved for the frst time from the red into the black.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father created this purely out of passion. It was romantic, but it lacked focus,\u201d says Salvino. \u201cIt is important to be driven by passion, but for sustainability and the future\u2014and for my 1-year-old son\u2014it\u2019s important we are proftable as well.\u201d<\/p>\n