Alta Mora is a project born from fire and vision — a Sicilian estate situated on the dramatic slopes of Mount Etna, where altitude, ash, and ancient vines converge. Founded by the Cusumano family in 2013, Alta Mora reflects a deep commitment to expressing the unique identity of Etna through its native varietals, especially Nerello Mascalese and Carricante. With vineyards carved into black volcanic soil at altitudes reaching up to 1,200 metres, the wines are a mirror of their terrain: tense, layered, and lifted.

The estate farms vineyards across several of Etna’s most prized contrade, including Feudo di Mezzo, Guardiola, and Pietramarina — each a patchwork of lava flows, stone walls, and century-old bush vines. Soils are mineral-rich, porous, and fiercely draining, forcing roots deep into the volcanic rock. Altitude and diurnal shift bring freshness and fine tannin to the reds, and electric tension to the whites. Farming is carried out with minimal intervention and absolute focus on vine balance and soil expression.

In the cellar, the winemaking is restrained and transparent. Nerello Mascalese is fermented with native yeasts in large conical oak vats, then aged in neutral oak to preserve the purity and structure of the fruit. Carricante is treated with equal precision — pressed gently, fermented cool, and aged on lees in stainless steel or large barrels for clarity and quiet weight. The result is wines that are architectural rather than flamboyant — finely drawn, with volcanic nerve and a core of salinity.

The wines are elegant, vertical, and deeply expressive of Etna’s high-altitude austerity. Etna Rosso offers sour cherry, crushed rose, smoke, and iron-rich minerality, with firm yet silky tannins. Single-contrada bottlings, such as Guardiola, reveal greater depth and definition — wines of tension, not density. Etna Bianco, made from Carricante, is linear and mineral — lemon pith, fennel, and flint over a long, saline finish. Across the range, Alta Mora’s wines hum with energy and restraint.

What defines Alta Mora is its elemental clarity — a project that channels the raw, vertical beauty of Etna into wines of precision, depth, and volcanic poise.

These are wines shaped not only by land, but by lava — composed, lifted, and echoing with the quiet power of a mountain that still breathes.