Firriato is, among the largest quality wine producers, the winery that, in less than three decades, has been successful in finding its own original and specific style of production. Started in 1984 from Trapani countryside, Firriato grew always looking for those terroirs - very characterizing - where it’s possible to practice a precision viticulture, dedicated to enhancing the varieties of the Sicilian tradition. Today Firriato also embraces the Etna and the island of Favignana, part of the Egadi archipelago, with limited niche productions, aimed to an audience of sophisticated and innovative wine-lovers. Firriato’s challenge on the Etna volcano consists of a kind of mountain viticulture, testing its particular climatic condition combined with the specificity of the soil. The main objective, since the beginning, has been to train the vine on a soil that is not just volcanic but, also, geologically young and, by this way, to understand the peculiarities, to discover the enological and productive value, keeping the philosophy and the style of a brand that, today, has the strength and reputation to represent Sicilian quality wines in the world.

In 2009, Firriato restored one of the typical Etna housing complexes with an antique palmento annex, obtaining a small but modern winery from the restoration. This winery processes the grapes grown in the vineyards surrounding the Cavanera Etnea Resort. The complex’s restoration was carried out without undermining the morphology of the rooms. There is nothing unsuitable here—the location’s harmony is a clear indication of its respect for the history which created it. At the building’s foundation, the ancient splendour of the palmento has been restored. The palmento (an old word applied to the structure and the equipment contained within, for making wine), dating back to the 1700s, contains the wooden wine press, the containment vats carved out from the rock, and the drainage channels which were made either from terracotta or hollowed out from the hard basalt rock. Cavanera Etnea Resort is the perfect location for enjoying a well-deserved period of relaxation—relaxation in an environment and atmosphere where the style of times gone by goes hand in hand with the comfort of modernity, so you can spend an unforgettable time far from the frenzy of the city.

Etna, also known as ‘a Muntagna (The Mountain) in Sicilian, is the highest volcano in Europe and one of the world’s most active. Etna’s eruptions occur both at the summit, where there are currently four craters, as well as on its slopes at heights just a few hundred metres above sea level. The four craters at the summit are: Voragine and Bocca Nuova, which were formed inside the Central Crater in 1945 and 1968 respectively; the Northeast Crater which has existed since 1911 and is currently the highest point on Etna at 3,330 metres (10,925 ft); and finally the Southeast Crater that was formed in 1971 and that lately has been the most active of the four craters. This configuration differs greatly from that of almost century ago, when Etna’s summit consisted of only the central crater, which goes to show the great dynamism of the volcano. The Cavanera Etnea Resort and the Firriato vineyards are located on the North East slope, at an altitude between 600 and 900 metres above sea level