Passopisciaro is in the Mount Etna region of eastern Sicily, and it is one of the pioneers in the winemaking renaissance sweeping these volcanic slopes. It was started in 2001 by Andrea Franchetti, a northern Italian who started Tenuta di Trinoro in Tuscany in the 1980s. But in the late 1990s he became interested in the extraordinary terroir around Mount Etna, where very high vineyards of up 3,600 feet, intense sunshine, and rich, volcanic soils have historically been exploited for vineyards. However until recent decades most Sicilian grapes went to bulk wines, and the wine world was unimpressed. But since the early 2000s, Franchetti and other forward-thinking viticulturalists have turned Sicily, and especially the Mount Etna district, into some of Europe’s most exciting wine regions. With about 65 vineyard acres, Franchetti grows the indigenous grape Nerello Mascalese, as well as Cesanese d’Afille, Chardonnay and Petit Verdot. Because they are grown on such high altitudes and sometimes are made of non-traditional grapes, many of Passopisciaro’s wines fall out of the traditional DOC boundaries. Gambero Rosso regularly awards these wines ratings of two to three glasses