Christine Austin's top wines from the slopes of Mount Etna which you can buy in Yorkshire

“Don’t worry,” everyone told me “Etna erupts 50 times a year. You will be fine.” Apparently, with each boom, Etna spewed out rocks and lava, so I was quite happy to be on the side that wasn’t in the path of the trickle of lava then emerging from the peak.

I went back to Sicily earlier this year, for a grand tasting of new vintage wines and a tour of one of the wine regions of this delightful island. In preparation for the trip, I had ticked the box on the form to tour Etna, but when I arrived, I had been allocated a place on a different tour.

I was disappointed, but then spent a few splendid days touring the beautiful region inland from Palermo, of which more in coming weeks. My disappointment vanished when I met those coming back from the Etna tour.

Not only had the mountain been booming – probably in anticipation of its much greater show of force of recent weeks, but there was snow falling too. The bus got stuck in snow, the journalists were frozen, and they didn’t get to see any vineyards.

Dealing with Etna is not easy, especially now, in its restless phase, but there are many winegrowers who deal with the erratic nature of the mountain on a daily basis. The thing about volcanoes is that the soil is packed with minerals which give the grapes grown on it a range of flavours and complexity that cannot be found elsewhere.

There is also the fact that phylloxera, the aphid that caused most of the world to pull up its vines and plant on American rootstock, never got beyond 400 metres on Etna, so pre-phylloxera vines thrive on these slopes.

Their ungrafted roots dig down deep, making the most of the mineral-rich soils. Natural rain is also a bonus on the mountain since clouds gather around the peak, dispensing rain on a regular basis.

There is also the problem of planting vines, amongst boulders of aged lava stones. This is not the place for mechanisation.

So, a vineyard on Etna is really quite an asset for a winemaker and it is not just the mountain that is booming. Sales of Etna wines are also growing fast as the world discovers just how good volcanic wines can be.

The main grapes are Carricante, Catarrato and Grecanico for whites with Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio for reds. As for the soils, one winemaker described it as like ‘a Jackson Pollock painting’.

This is not just one terroir, it has layers upon layers of terroir, from thousands of years of volcanic activity.

While, thankfully, I did not actually go to Etna this year, I did settle down for a whole day to taste through dozens of Etna wines which were presented in impeccable style by Italian sommeliers.

Perfectly poured, with time to taste and make notes, this was a much better way of assessing Etna’s wines – without the complication of trudging through snow.

Grapes are grown on the lower slopes of the mountain, up to around 1000 metres, on the north, east and southern slopes. Each slope is divided into Contradas – individual plots that may be owned by several growers, but which have particular characteristics that make them different from their neighbours.

It is similar to the Bourgogne system. Some wines may be sold under their Contrada name while others are blended to make larger volumes of wine to be sold under a more generic name.

While I tasted hundreds of Etna wines in Sicily, not all of them make their way to Yorkshire. These are the best that are already in our region, with an additional few that I would really like to see on the shelves.

White wines

Le Sabbie dell’Etna Bianco 2022, Waitrose £14.99: From the Ferriato winery, this has bright, lively peaches and pear fruit with a typical minerally finish.

Etna Bianco 2022, Planeta, The Wine Society £23: Planeta is the family company that, 40 years ago, decided that Sicily could make world-class wines and proved it. Now with a fine range of wines from several regions of Sicily, they produce wine from Contrada Taccione on the northern slope of Etna. Carricante grapes give orange blossom aromas, yellow plum and a vibrant style.

Aedes Etna Bianco I Custodi 2022, Buon Vino £29: Carricante grapes, organically grown, on lava stone terraces, and cultivated in traditional style, with close packed vines, natural methods, horses instead of tractors and with respect for the land. The wine is sensational. Fresh, with yellow stone fruits, green apple and a crunchy, mineral style. Team this with grilled fish, especially if there are olives on the plate.

Etna Bianco Archineri 2021, Pietradolce, Hic! Wine Merchants, £45: An expensive but totally lovely wine made from ungrafted vines. It has flavours of white peach, lemon, with crushed mint in the background, an edge of nutmeg spice and a crunch like a newly laid gravel path.

Red wines

Le Sabbie dell’Etna Rosso 2020, Waitrose £14.99: Nerello Mascalese grapes give this wine layers of red fruit flavours, backed by clear freshness and a savoury, crunchy finish.

Cottanera Etna Rosso Barbazzale 2021, Penistone Wine Cellars £18.67: An exceptional nose of ripe plums and sour cherries, followed by a robust and rounded palate, firm and concentrated with a balanced, persistent finish. Delicious.

Graci Etna Rosso 2022, Hic! Wine Merchants, £26: I liked every wine from this winery, but the reds were exceptional. Nerello Mascalese grapes planted at 600 metres on the north eastern slope of Etna give this wine a burst of strawberry and red cherry fruit, backed by minerally crunch.

Benanti Contrada Monte Serra, 2020, Field and Fawcett, £38.75: Nerello Mascalese grapes, grown on the lower slopes of the south eastern slope of the volcano, give this wine a delicious intensity of red fruits, laced with gentle spice and held together with a tannin structure that is soft, velvety and perfectly capable of standing up to a venison steak.

A few extra Etna producers I would like to see in Yorkshire include Cusumano, Vivera, Animaetnea and lots more Planeta, please.