At the slopes of Etna, where the crumbly and ancient lava almost meets snow, villages and districts have strange names; names that a bit saucy child invents when he wants a story. Chiappamacine, Montedolce, Sciaranuova, Passopisciaro. It is right here, in Passopisciaro, that our story began: an ancient history, that as the land from which it was born, savours of Greece, of myths, of fire and of modernity. The story of a man who, already adult, with family and children, fell madly in love and devoted all his free time to his new lover who, in return, offered him a precious fruit.
The lover was a vineyard of eight hectares, the fruit was a rare and fulfilling wine, the man was Don Michele Pennisi, a cardiologist. All through his life Don Michele divided attention and professionalism among his patients and his vineyard. In the early years he made wine with the grapes he produced, then limited himself to only sale. In 1994 Vito, a faithful farmer, joined him, ready to share the passion and knowledge and to transmit them, when the time would come, to future generations.
Passion for wine flowed in the veins like blood, and when Don Michele took leave from this world in April 2006, his son Vincenzo, d professional geologist, was ready to take up the baton. Vincenzo began a new adventure. He wanted to sell wine even outside the region and for this he needed a name that was not limited to those of local wines, insofar as well–known all over Sicily. No, he needed a name that would evoke the history of that vineyard and of the man who with care led it to absolute excellence. There can be no doubt: the new red, rosé and white wine would be called Don Michele.
Unfortunately, in 2012 also the existence of Vincenzo reached its term and the interest for wine passed to the other two brothers: Giuseppe, a doctor in Turin and Giuseppina, a biologist in Catania. Their love for the vine and the deep respect for the efforts of their father and brother led them to overcome every obstacle and to deal, in spite of their distance, with the family passion. Even now the vineyard, a demanding but generous lover, responds with rich fullness to those who devote her care and affection: it was decided to produce an elitist wine, which brings with it the historicity and the tradition of the Sicily of the past, not altering the dictates that once moved Vincenzo.
A minimum production, limited and, for this reason, immensely valuable for the quality of wine, is considered by the leading experts of great finesse and charm, but especially, for the two brothers, is awareness that ... the dream can go on.
