Romeo del Castello (Chiara Vigo)
Romeo del Castello is located on the northern face of Mt. Etna in Randazzo. The estate comes from her mother, Rossana’s side, dating back to her great grandparents. Though, the last person to make wine from their grapes was Chiara’s grandfather. Her father and mother maintained the farm, and since her father’s death in 1987, her mother maintained the land herself. Chiara moved back to her home in 2007 and worked with Salvo Foti, the esteemed vignaiolo, now associated with an entire winemaking school of thought (I Vignieri), that works with a minimal intervention style. Since Chiara took over as winemaker, the winery has received international recognition as a high quality, artisanal winery.
The 1981 eruption destroyed a large part of the Vigo property. Typically the lava flows do not reach the vineyards and towns, but this time, the flow cut right through the property. Chiara’s parents were forced to sell some of their 60 hectare property due to to damage and now they property stands at 14 hectares. Their old vines (70-100yrs) were spared by the lava flow and they have since planted more vines over the last 20 or so years. The vines are all trained albarello, which is a individually staked, head vine pruning method considered traditional for the area. They never use any chemicals in the vineyard and take a sustainable and organic approach in the vineyards. They grow Nerello Mascalese and only produce red, rose’, and grappa.
In the winery, she uses stainless steel and open wood vats, as well as some older oak barrels for maturation. All wines are spontaneously fermented (native/ wild yeasts) with no temperature control and judicious application of sulfur. Chiara takes an art historian approach to her labels and they change every year. From the Art Nouveau wallpaper in their house to drawings and old timey photos. She has even published a book, Arte e Vino, on the subject of wine labels. Clearly, she brings her full self to her winemaking and you can taste her “anima”, spirit, in the wines.
