Vino Di Anna Vendredi 13 Vino Rosso. A lovely light red wine that “majors in red fruits and drinkability”

Vino Di Anna Vendredi 13 Vino Rosso, 13.0% ABV

RRP €29.45. Stockists: 64 Wine, Greenman Wines, Bradleys Cork, Le Caveau online

A lovely light red wine that “majors in red fruits and drinkability”

This organic wine has come all the way from the northern slopes of

Mount Etna. The colour is vibrant red. It has aromas of cherries and strawberries and a little spice.  It is full of fruit with what the wine-maker says is “the trademark minerality of grapes grown at high altitude on volcanic soils”. Importers Le Caveau say this wine “majors in red fruits and drinkability with a few herbal twists and mineral crunches for fun”. 

It was a wine that was unplanned. A scorching and dry year unfolded on Mt Etna in 2021 “which resulted in a low-yielding harvest of ripe, healthy grapes. However, sugar levels were higher than normal and the skins of the black grapes were thicker and more tannic.” 

Winemaker Anna elaborates: “Thus, we needed to modify our vinification practices accordingly. Nature still proved dominant, and to produce a balanced wine, we found the need to blend the wines that usually would have been destined for our Palmento Rosso and Jeudi 15 Rosato labels, along with a white wine made from old bush vines of Grecanico, Carricante and Minnella. Vendredi 13 Rosso is the result”. 

In a playful tongue-in-cheek gesture, the new wine was named Vendredi 13.  “For some Friday 13th is considered unlucky while for others, it’s a day to celebrate!” And here we have something to celebrate with! It certainly has a playful label, signed by Michel Tolmer.  This light and juicy natural red is Very Highly Recommended.

The Producers

In 2007, itinerant winemaker Australian Anna Martens and her husband Eric Narioo (a natural wine importer based in London), bought a small vineyard on the slopes of Mt Etna. It was full of old-growth Nerella Mascalese, Catarratto and Greciano. According to VINO, they produce a range of earthy pure-spirited wines with fruit all organically grown and naturally fermented. 

VINO is well impressed and has included them in their shortlist of Winemakers to Know in Sicily. Not just VINO.   “These are exciting wines, full of personality,” says  Jamie Goode  wineanorak.com. 

* There is nothing to worry about in that little (very little) bit of natural sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

* This post is part of a series on Italian wines made from native grapes and produced by usually small or medium-sized organic wineries. Taking some “guidance” here from the recently published VINO. Mightn’t always net the hat trick but hope to score two from the three each time. I have quite a few lined up but I’m happy to consider any suggestions or help. #OrganicItaly