FEDERICO GRAZIANI

Born in Ravenna in the mid-1970s, Federico Graziani became passionate about the wine world from a very young age, to the point that at the age of 15, he attended his first course as a sommelier, starting a path that was going to turn him into a professional sommelier when he was only 19 years old. In 1998, then, the definitive consecration, when he won, at the age of 23, the competition as "Best Sommelier in Italy". Later he kept confirming his great talent, with collaborations with the most important Italian chefs. And then his writings, with his books "Grandi Vini di Piccole Cantine" and "Vini d’ Autore ". Then science, with the enrollment and subsequent graduation in viticulture and enology, achieved in 2006. Since 2012, area manager of Feudi di San Gregorio for central-northern Italy, Federico Graziani is truly an important figure in the wine world, among the few who can boast skills, knowledge and multifaceted experiences in many sectors of oenology. This is how he got to eventually become winemaker and producer. His vineyards are located right along the slopes of Etna, in Castiglione di Sicilia, near Catania, in the "Contrada Feudo di Mezzo" of Passopisciaro. About 700 meters above sea level, vines are grown “alberello” style and they’re aged on average 75 years, although it’s not uncommon to find centenary vines. In the vineyard everything is done by hand, neither pesticides nor systemic treatments are used, while the only things allowed are copper and sulfur. Balanced, rich and concentrated bunches arrive in the cellar to be enhanced in all the nuances that the vintage and the territory have molded into the fruit. For fermentation, he only relies on indigenous yeasts, while aging is carried out in small wooden barrels that are never new, and it lasts no more than 12-14 months. Thus was born the "Profumo di Vulcano", which together with the Rosso dell’Etna, represent the two labels that Federico Graziani currently produces. Two wines that capture the beauty of the giant of Sicily, that Etna which, from an oenological point of view, has given enormous satisfaction for years, and will give further and greater ones.