I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna

I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna was launched in 2007 by Mario Paoluzi and his wife Manuela as an Etna project conceived from the start as a partnership with Salvo Foti, the Catania-born oenologist whose I Vigneri growers' association had become the central reference point for traditional alberello bush-vine viticulture on Mount Etna in the years after its 2001 founding. Mario and Manuela Paoluzi acquired plots across four named contradas on Mount Etna and committed to working them within the I Vigneri framework: alberello bush vines on dry-stone lava terraces, hand-worked vineyards tended by I Vigneri member growers under Foti's viticultural direction, and a cellar approach modeled on the older Etneo traditions that I Vigneri has worked to preserve. The estate name was chosen as direct homage to the I Vigneri working members whose stewardship of the historic vineyards made the project possible. The label 'I Custodi' translates as 'the guardians,' and the full title 'I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna' completes the dedication: the guardians of Etna's vineyards. The partnership has continued unchanged since 2007, with Foti remaining the consulting oenologist and the I Vigneri members tending the working vineyards across the four contradas.

• Founded 2007 by Mario and Manuela Paoluzi as a partnership project with Salvo Foti and the I Vigneri growers' association (founded 2001) as the central reference for traditional Etna alberello viticulture
• Plots acquired across four named contradas on Mount Etna and committed from the start to the I Vigneri framework: alberello bush vines, dry-stone lava terraces, hand-worked vineyards tended by member growers under Foti's direction
• Estate name 'I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna' translates as 'the guardians of Etna's vineyards,' chosen as direct homage to the I Vigneri working members whose stewardship of the historic vineyards made the project possible
• Foti partnership has continued unchanged since 2007: Foti remains the consulting oenologist; I Vigneri members continue to tend the working vineyards across the four contradas

Salvo Foti's centrality to the I Custodi project sets the estate apart in the modern Etna scene as the most directly Foti-aligned commercial label outside the I Vigneri name itself. Foti began consulting work in eastern Sicily in 1981 and launched I Vigneri in 2001 as a growers' association whose name references a historic vine-growers' guild first established on Etna in 1435; the modern I Vigneri's working membership of grower-vintners revived the alberello bush-vine viticultural tradition that mass-mechanized estate work had largely displaced through the twentieth century. I Custodi's commercial range is the highest-visibility Foti-consulted project outside the I Vigneri-branded wines, and reading the I Custodi range alongside the I Vigneri Vinupetra and Vinujancu cuvées gives the clearest commercial picture of Foti's stylistic preferences in viticulture and cellar work. The Paoluzi family functions as the commercial and marketing front for the partnership, with Mario and Manuela handling commercial relationships and the I Vigneri member growers handling the daily viticultural work under Foti's direction. The estate has built international distribution through Williams Corner Wine and Regal Wine Imports in the United States, with parallel coverage in northern Europe through specialty importer networks.

• Salvo Foti centrality sets I Custodi apart as the most directly Foti-aligned commercial label outside the I Vigneri name itself
• Foti began consulting in eastern Sicily 1981 and launched I Vigneri 2001 as a growers' association referencing a historic vine-growers' guild first established on Etna in 1435; modern I Vigneri revived the alberello bush-vine tradition
• Reading I Custodi alongside the I Vigneri Vinupetra and Vinujancu cuvées gives the clearest commercial picture of Foti's stylistic preferences in viticulture and cellar work
• Paoluzi family functions as commercial and marketing front; I Vigneri member growers handle daily viticultural work under Foti's direction; Williams Corner and Regal Wine handle complementary US distribution

I Custodi works four named contradas across Mount Etna, predominantly on the north slope but with meaningful east-slope reach. Contrada Moganazzi on the north slope at 680 metres of elevation is the home of the Aetneus flagship: a parcel of old-vine Nerello Mascalese with a small Nerello Cappuccio share, planted in the historic alberello bush-vine system on dry-stone lava terraces, with vine ages reaching toward and beyond ninety years on the older sections. Pistus draws from younger plantings on the same north-slope contrada cluster (Castiglione di Sicilia commune). Contrada Puntalazzo at Mascali on the east slope at 750 metres carries the Ante Etna Bianco footprint: roughly ten-year-old Carricante-led plantings on sandy volcanic mineral-rich soils, with small percentages of Grecanico, Minnella, and other indigenous local varieties espalier-trained at 8,500 plants per hectare. The Imbris Etna Bianco Superiore is sourced from the Milo east-slope Bianco Superiore zone, which sits at the higher altitudinal band on Etna's east flank. The multi-slope structure gives I Custodi a footprint that crosses the volcano's two principal viticultural slopes and reaches both the north-slope Nerello-led terroir and the east-slope Carricante-led terroir within one estate range.

• Contrada Moganazzi (north slope, 680 metres elevation, Castiglione di Sicilia commune cluster): home of the Aetneus flagship, old-vine Nerello Mascalese with Nerello Cappuccio share on alberello bush vines and dry-stone lava terraces
• Younger north-slope plantings in the same contrada cluster supply Pistus, the entry Etna Rosso DOC; alberello and head-trained styles inherited from the I Vigneri tradition
• Contrada Puntalazzo at Mascali (east slope, 750 metres): Ante Etna Bianco footprint of roughly ten-year-old Carricante-led plantings on sandy volcanic mineral-rich soils, espalier-trained at 8,500 plants per hectare
• Milo east-slope Bianco Superiore zone supplies Imbris Etna Bianco Superiore DOC; multi-slope structure crosses the volcano's two principal viticultural slopes within one estate range

The five-wine I Custodi range maps directly to the four contradas. Aetneus is the flagship Etna Rosso DOC: a single-contrada Moganazzi cru of old-vine Nerello Mascalese (predominantly, with a small Nerello Cappuccio share) from the alberello bush-vine block, fermented in the older Etneo tradition under the I Vigneri framework and aged in large neutral oak before bottling. Pistus is the entry Etna Rosso DOC, drawn from the same north-slope contrada cluster but from younger vines, designed for accessibility and near-term drinking while preserving the contrada-driven terroir transparency that defines the I Custodi style. Ante is the Etna Bianco DOC from Contrada Puntalazzo at Mascali on the east slope, predominantly Carricante (around 90%) with Grecanico, Minnella, and small percentages of other indigenous local varieties; the wine carries the saline-mineral east-slope Carricante profile in a distinct register from the more inland Bianco Superiore zone. Imbris is the Etna Bianco Superiore DOC from the Milo east-slope Carricante zone (the same Milo band that defines Benanti's Pietra Marina), at the structural-depth tier above Ante. Alnus is the traditional 'pista e mutta' (press and rack) Etna Rosato in the older Etneo artisanal style, drawn from north-slope Nerello fruit and produced in the small-batch direct-press tradition that I Vigneri has worked to preserve. The range deliberately covers Etna's three principal stylistic axes (Nerello-led red, Carricante-led white, and traditional rosato) within five wines from four contradas.

• Aetneus Etna Rosso DOC: flagship single-contrada Moganazzi cru of old-vine Nerello Mascalese (with Nerello Cappuccio share) from the alberello bush-vine block, fermented in the older Etneo tradition, aged in large neutral oak
• Pistus Etna Rosso DOC: entry-tier from younger vines on the same north-slope contrada cluster; designed for accessibility while preserving contrada-driven terroir transparency
• Ante Etna Bianco DOC: 90% Carricante from Contrada Puntalazzo at Mascali (east slope, 750 metres) plus Grecanico, Minnella, and other indigenous varieties; saline-mineral east-slope register
• Imbris Etna Bianco Superiore DOC from Milo east-slope Carricante (same Milo band as Benanti Pietra Marina); Alnus traditional 'pista e mutta' Etna Rosato in the older Etneo artisanal style

I Custodi delle Vigne dell'Etna is the modern Etna scene's clearest case study in how the I Vigneri growers' association model translates to a commercial estate label. Mario and Manuela Paoluzi function as the commercial principals while Salvo Foti directs the viticultural and oenological work and the I Vigneri member growers tend the historic alberello vineyards across the four contradas. The result is a five-wine range that maps directly to the volcano's terroir architecture: north-slope Nerello-led red (Aetneus and Pistus from the Castiglione di Sicilia cluster), east-slope Carricante-led white (Ante from Mascali and Imbris from the Milo Bianco Superiore zone), and traditional Etneo rosato (Alnus). The estate sits adjacent to the I Vigneri-branded line in the Foti aesthetic universe, and the two ranges read as complementary commercial expressions of the same viticultural and cellar approach. I Custodi has built international distribution through specialty importer networks (Williams Corner Wine and Regal Wine Imports in the United States) and is the most accessible commercial entry point into the Foti-aligned aesthetic for restaurant and retail buyers outside the more limited I Vigneri-branded allocations. Reading I Custodi alongside Romeo del Castello and Calabretta gives the clearest picture of the modern Etna scene's traditionalist and Foti-aligned wing, distinct from the more interventionist or natural-leaning approaches of producers like Cornelissen.

• Modern Etna's clearest case study in how the I Vigneri growers' association model translates to a commercial estate label: Paoluzi family front, Foti viticultural direction, I Vigneri member growers tending vineyards
• Five-wine range maps directly to the volcano's terroir architecture: north-slope Nerello-led red, east-slope Carricante-led white, and traditional Etneo rosato
• Sits adjacent to the I Vigneri-branded line in the Foti aesthetic universe; the two ranges read as complementary commercial expressions of the same viticultural and cellar approach
• Most accessible commercial entry point into the Foti-aligned aesthetic for restaurant and retail buyers outside the more limited I Vigneri-branded allocations; reads alongside Romeo del Castello and Calabretta in the traditionalist Etna wing