Vini Scirto began with a very personal decision not to sell.
Giuseppe Scirto spent his childhood summers in Passopisciaro with his grandfather, Don Pippinu, working in vineyards planted on Etna. When his grandfather died, many growers around the volcano were selling their vineyards. Giuseppe and Valeria chose the opposite direction: they kept the family land and started farming it themselves in 2009, making 2010 their first vintage destined for bottling.
The vineyards lie around Passopisciaro, including Feudo di Mezzo and Porcaria, with vines dating back to the early 1900s. Nerello Mascalese dominates, alongside Nerello Cappuccio, Carricante, Catarratto, Grecanico and Minnella.
Their farming is deliberately simple and hands-on, without synthetic fertilisers or pesticides. Don Pippinu — both red and white — keeps the grandfather’s name alive, which makes the wines feel less like branding and more like a continuation of a family memory.
For Giuseppe, those vineyards were where he spent his childhood. Keeping them was never just a business decision.
