Ciro Biondi

The history of the Biondi winery, founded at the end of the 19th century, is long and full of successes. We are already witnessing widespread critical and public success in the production of wines at the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the work of Salvatore Biondi, Ciro's great-uncle and the experience of his grandfather Cirino. Already in the early 1900s they participated in wine fairs, together with their partner Lanzafame, winning  medals and prizes for their wines, labeled 'Biondi - Lanzafame'. A thriving business which, however, over the years, experienced a whole series of difficulties and impediments, until 1999, when Ciro and his wife Stephanie decided to take care of the cellar full time, that is, both the maintenance of the vineyards and the winemaking. They manage to restore the 6 hectares owned by the family, leading to the birth of Outis, the winery's flagship line, and to the production, in general, of high quality wines. They rediscover the enormous potential of Etna's volcanic 'terroir' and its native vines. We are in fact on the slopes of the most famous volcano in Italy, with three terraced vineyards that make up the property, with South-East exposures, in the municipality of Trecastagni, about 18 km from Catania, at an altitude between 600 and 700 meters above sea level , and precisely on a crater dating back to 125 BC. In the property there are still some old and precious Nerello vines and white grapes such as Carricante, Catarrato and Minella which make up the majority of the production. Worth mentioning is a truly particular cru: Vigna Cisterna Fuori, a vineyard planted on the same crater, but with a different appearance, which mainly produces Nerello Mascalese and Cappuccio. Last, but not least, Vigna San Nicolò nestled on a 12,000 year old crater which produces exclusively Nerello Mascalese. The peculiar microclimate of the slopes of Etna, the diversity of the sandy volcanic soil, rich in minerals and very different from one vineyard to another, in addition to the enormous diurnal temperature difference, contribute to the unique characteristics of Biondi wines, characterized by essential natural elements . Wines to try.