Calderara Sottana (Etna Contrada)

Calderara Sottana lies on the northern slope of Mount Etna in the commune of Randazzo, in the province of Catania. It is one of the contrade listed in Allegato 1 of the Etna DOC disciplinare (last modified by DM of 19 January 2022 and rectified by DM of 14 March 2022), and Article 7 allows the denomination to be followed by an additional geographical indication naming the contrada the grapes come from. The list numbers it 25th in Randazzo and bounds it by the railway (str. Ferrata FF. SS.) and the SP 89 road to the north, the SS 120 road to the south, the boundary of the commune of Castiglione di Sicilia to the east, and str. Vie. Rumolo to the west. The same list carries a separate Contrada Calderara (number 22), bounded by the SS 120 to the north and the Montelaguardia lazzitto road to the south. A 2011 amendment of the disciplinare recognised 133 contrade, and the updated map the Consorzio released in 2022 shows 142, of which 25 are in Randazzo. The altitude of Calderara Sottana runs from 600 to 700 metres, and Benanti's Calderara Sottana vineyard sits at almost 700 metres. The northern slope is the area with the highest number of producers and the gentlest slopes, with a cold climate protected by the Peloritani and Nebrodi ranges, and Nerello Mascalese is its most cultivated variety. The north slope (Randazzo, Castiglione, Linguaglossa) also has the highest rainfall and strong day-night temperature swings, with average annual rainfall reaching 1,200 mm on the north and north-east slopes.

• Commune of Randazzo, province of Catania, on the north slope of Mount Etna
• Listed in Allegato 1 of the Etna DOC disciplinare; Article 7 allows the contrada name on the label as an additional geographical indication
• Boundaries: railway and SP 89 to the north, SS 120 to the south, Castiglione di Sicilia boundary to the east, str. Vie. Rumolo to the west
• Altitude 600 to 700 metres; almost 700 metres for Benanti's vineyard

Tenuta delle Terre Nere writes that of all the crus of the Etna DOC these soils are surely the stoniest, so much so that in typical spots the ground cannot be seen for the stones: fist-sized, light, a mix of black pumice and basalt. The soil is volcanic and very stony, pumice and basalt with little ash. The terroir of Contrada Calderara comes from lava flows and volcano-clastic deposits left by the effusive and explosive activity of the Elliptic eruptive centre, roughly 60,000 to 15,000 years ago. Five or six north-slope contrade have Elliptic terroir; in three of them the igneous Elliptic material is mixed with alluvial soils left by floods of the Alcantara river, and only three are 'pure' Elliptic terroir in the estate's reading: Bocca d'Orzo, Calderara and San Lorenzo. Benanti's Calderara Sottana vineyard is planted on stony, volcanic soil rich in organic matter, in 'ripiddu' (a skeleton of small pumice) and in minerals, with a sub-acid reaction. The name Calderara recalls heat, probably from the warmth the black stones hold and give back to the ground on cold nights.

• Among the stoniest soils of the Etna DOC crus: fist-sized, light stones of black pumice and basalt
• Volcanic, very stony, pumice and basalt with little ash
• Elliptic-era origin, about 60,000 to 15,000 years ago; one of three 'pure' Elliptic north-slope contrade with Bocca d'Orzo and San Lorenzo
• Benanti's vineyard: stony volcanic soil with 'ripiddu' (small pumice), rich in organic matter and minerals, sub-acid

Tenuta delle Terre Nere calls its Calderara Sottana perhaps the most complete of its crus, a wine that, like a wide-angle lens, seems to hold the widest spectrum of flavours, aromas and nuances: markedly autumnal and spiced, aromatic and austere at once. Don Peppino, who tended the Calderara vines for 70 years, called its wines 'cremosi' (creamy). Girolamo Russo presents its Calderara Sottana red as supported by an acid vein that makes it fresh and vibrant, with blackberry, currant and morello cherry on the nose alongside hints of Mediterranean herbs. Benanti's tasting note for its Calderara Sottana red gives an ethereal, spiced nose of ripe red fruit and a dry, full, tannic palate. For the white, Calderara Sottana is the denser of Tenuta delle Terre Nere's two north-slope Carricante crus, and both are fermented and aged in 10-hectolitre casks.

• Tenuta delle Terre Nere: perhaps the most complete of its crus, markedly autumnal, spiced, aromatic and austere at once
• Girolamo Russo: an acid vein that makes its Calderara Sottana red fresh and vibrant
• Harvest in the second ten days of October at Tenuta delle Terre Nere; mid-October at Benanti
• Carricante white: the denser of Tenuta delle Terre Nere's two north-slope white crus, fermented and aged in 10-hectolitre casks

Tenuta delle Terre Nere, whose address is Contrada Calderara in Randazzo, has vinified and bottled its contrade separately since its first vintage in 2002, and Calderara Sottana is one of the seven north-slope contrade where it owns vineyards. Its Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso DOC is Nerello Mascalese from 15 hectares of vines 50 to 100 years old, at 600 to 650 metres, with an annual production of 9,000 bottles. The Prephylloxera bottling, 'La Vigna di Don Peppino', comes from two parcels that survived phylloxera within a vineyard of about four hectares in front of and to the right of the cellar. Phylloxera reached Etna in 1881, so these own-rooted vines are about 140 years old; Marco de Grazia decided in 2006 to vinify them separately. The bottling comes from 0.8 hectares, at 5,000 bottles a year. The Calderara Sottana Etna Bianco DOC is 100% Carricante from vines 15 to 60 years old, 6,000 bottles a year. In 2014, seven years after planting Carricante on the north slope, the estate began producing two white crus, Calderara Sottana and Santo Spirito. Benanti has made contrada wines on four slopes of the volcano since the 1990s, and Calderara Sottana in Randazzo is one of its five contrade. Its Contrada Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso is 100% Nerello Mascalese from north-facing vines of about 50 years, trained on spurred cordon at about 6,500 vines per hectare, and matures for 12 months in French oak tonneaux. Girolamo Russo bottles a Calderara Sottana Etna Rosso DOC from 100% Nerello Mascalese grown in Contrada Calderara Sottana (Randazzo), 2,000 bottles, from organically grown grapes; its 2022 comes from 50-year-old alberello vines. Frank Cornelissen's MunJebel Rosso CD, from contrada Calderara sottana, is one of its premier crus.

Primary sources (MASAF, the Consorzio Tutela Vini Etna DOC, and producers' own sites for their own wines): https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Ff%252F6%252FD.b5bdd1dbb38eb7253e5a/P/BLOB%3AID%3D4625/E/7z?mode=download, https://thewinesofetna.com/, https://thewinesofetna.com/terroir/, https://thewinesofetna.com/consortium/, https://thewinesofetna.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DOC_ETNA___Disciplinare_28_02_23.pdf, https://www.tenutaterrenere.com/contrade/, https://www.tenutaterrenere.com/grand-cru/calderara-sottana-rosso/, https://www.tenutaterrenere.com/grand-cru/calderara-sottana-bianco/, https://www.tenutaterrenere.com/grand-cru/calderara-sottana-rosso-pre/, https://www.tenutaterrenere.com/su-di-noi/, https://www.benanti.it/selezione-contrade/, https://www.benanti.it/prodotto/contrada-calderara-sottanaetna-rosso/, https://www.girolamorusso.it/i_vini/calderara-sottana/, https://www.frankcornelissen.it/our-production-2/. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/etna-announces-nine-new-contrade-with-map-update-492184/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/etnas-star-winemakers-556926/. Last verified 2026-10-05