Cooking for Etna Bianco. Volcanic white wine meets the sea.

A cool climate on a hot island

Andreas calls Etna a cool climate region that is hot in terms of being trendy, and the description fits. The vines grow on the slopes of an active volcano, in black ash and rock that drains so well the roots have to dig deep to find water. Fresh ash keeps landing on the vineyards, and Salvino Benanti explains that this is why minerality is a key element of any Etna wine, white or red.

Elevation does the rest. The vineyard behind Benanti's Pietra Marina sits at 800 meters on the east slope, facing the sea. Warm sunny days, cool breezes and cold evenings keep the average temperature far below the rest of Sicily. Salvino calls them mountain wines, and the freshness in the glass shows it.

Carricante and the Benanti family

Pietra Marina is 100% Carricante, the white grape that, in Salvino's words, has made Etna famous around the world. It is an Etna Bianco Superiore from the village of Milo, a tiny area that accounts for under one percent of Etna's wine. The wine is made only in stainless steel, with no oak, but spends 24 months on its lees. Salvino describes flint, petrol, white flowers, citrus and anise: a wine that is pure and stony rather than fruity.

The family story is told over the chopping board. Salvino's great-grandfather made wine for the family, and his father went professional in the mid-1980s, first experimenting with international grapes before turning fully to the native varieties. Today Salvino and his twin brother Antonio run the estate, one often on the road pouring wine for sommeliers, the other spending much of his time in the vineyards and cellar.

Squid ink pasta with an Asian twist

Andreas jokes that he would never dare cook Italian for an Italian, so he heads east. His dish is squid ink pasta with langoustines, squid and scallops in a concentrated seafood broth built from the shells and heads, seaweed, onion, garlic, ginger and chili, finished in a wok with sesame oil. The idea is to mirror the iodine, sea-spray side of a mineral white.

Why does it work? Etna Bianco is light, crisp and restrained, so it wants delicate food with real flavor rather than heavy sauces. Andreas points to the lime and lemongrass notes in the wine, which pick up the gentle spice of the dish. Salvino's verdict on the plate is worth hearing: it has an Asian side, he says, "but I would say it has an Italian soul."

Etna Rosso and very old vines

Salvino also opens Serra della Contessa, an Etna Rosso Riserva. It is a field blend of Nerello Mascalese, the red grape every Etna red must contain, and Nerello Cappuccio, grown side by side on ungrafted vines more than a century old. These pre-phylloxera vineyards are rare, and Salvino says they are treated as open air museums.

Andreas finds the red very Burgundian and thinks it would also work with the seafood. That is a useful tip: a lighter, high-elevation Etna Rosso is one of the few reds that can sit happily next to fish, tuna or a tomato-based seafood pasta.

The mystery wine and the fridge challenge

Then the tables turn. Salvino brings a white wine that is close to his heart, made by someone else, and Andreas has to taste it blind and cook for it with whatever is in the fridge. He picks up lime, lemongrass, grapefruit, herbs and a peppery spice, and ends up poaching rainbow trout in a spiced brine, served cold with a herby sauce verte and a crisp apple, fennel and cucumber salad. Watch the episode to find out whether he names the wine, and to see how Salvino handles the food and wine memory game.