This ancient white grape variety has been grown in Sicily for more than 1000 years. It is known for it large yields, with the name carica meaning "load" in Italian. Wines made from this grape are also known for their high acidity. It is required in all of the denomination's white wines: 60 percent minimum in the standard Etna Bianco and 80 percent in Etna Bianco Superiore. On the whole, Carricante wines offer a broad range of refreshing citrus aromas – anything from lemon and lime to grapefruit to orange – alongside cooling herbal notes such as mint and aniseed. An underlying mineral, slatey character is also to be found in the finest examples. It is often blended with Catarratto, which is also used to produce Marsala wines.
Etna is an Italian wine DOC which covers the slopes of Mount Etna, the 3330 meter (10,920ft) active volcano that dominates the northeastern corner of Sicily. The Etna DOC was the very first in Sicily, created in August 1968 and followed nine months later by that of Sicily's most famous wine, Marsala. The most commonly produced form of Etna wine is the standard Etna Rosso, a red made predominantly from the Nerello Mascalese grape variety with up to a 20 percent addition of Nerello Cappuccio (also known here as Nerello Mantellato). Its bianco (white) counterpart is composed of at least 60 percent Carricante, backed up by Sicily's most widely planted white grape, Catarratto, and a host of minor additions including Trebbiano and Minnella. There is also a relatively rare rosato (rosé) form also based on Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Capuccio.
White wine is a wine whose color can be pale-yellow, yellow-green, and yellow-gold colored. The wine is produced from a variety of grape varieties. The flavor and color comes from the juice of the grape and sometimes the skin of the grape as well. Interestingly, not all white wine comes from white grapes. Some select red grapes are used as in Champagne.
