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Carricante is a white-wine grape originating in and still mainly from Sicily, where the vines grow on the eastern slopes of the famous volcano, Mt. Etna.
While Carricante is often blended with Catarratto to make the famed Etna Bianco blend, it can and does make fine monovarietal wines as well (though those are almost always bottled as “Etna Bianco” even when 100% Carricante). Those wines are well thought of; they typically have refreshing levels of acidity, good, strong minerailty, and a nose redolent of fruits—some citrus, like orange, some white fruits, and over all some light herbal qualities. Sometimes, especially in young bottlings, there is a sort of honeyed quality as well. Another quality often mentioned is a pleasant, flinty sense of salinity. Aged Carricante wines tend to develop a (desireable) faintly petroleum aroma, much like well-aged Rieslings.
Note that by Italian law an “Etna Bianco” wine must be at least 60% Carricante but can be more, up to 100%; but an “Etna Bianco Superiore” must be at least 80% (and the grapes must come from the commune of Milo).
Factoid: The name Carricante comes from the Italian caricare (to load, to burden), owing to its heavy yields.
“As a varietal wine, Carricante produces a fresh, straw-yellow, lightly fragrant white wine…Wines made from it tend to by high in total acidity with a low pH and have traditionally been subject to malolactic fermentation.”
“On the whole, Carricante wines offer a broad range of refreshing citrus aromas – anything from lemon and lime to grapefruit to orange – alongside cooling herbal notes such as mint and aniseed. An underlying mineral, slatey character is also to be found in the finest examples. When aged in stainless steel and without lees contact, notes of tart green apple shine through – a searing reminder of the variety’s naturally high acidity. Weightier Carricante wines (particularly later-harvested examples) are complemented by honeyed hints and the creamy texture that results from lees contact.”
“ The vine Carricante vinified alone gives a particularly fine wine, of straw yellow color with green highlights. The wine has good aromas with hints of herbs, fragrant and floral. It has a good taste structure, it is warm, savory and characterized by a high fixed acidity that makes it particularly suitable for aging in wood and the preservation over time.”
“The Carricante grape has become synonymous with the dry, pungent and incredibly energetic white wines of the fashionable eastern Sicilian region, Etna. While Sicily is largely semi-arid and hot, Etna’s volcanic soils and altitude infuse Carricante with a ferocious mineral presence, aromas of pungent lemon oil, and a tensile structure; all of which belie the grape variety’s southern Mediterranean origins…Carricante boasts febrile acidity (particularly high malic levels) and a phenolic carapace, suggesting that the best wines…will age very well indeed. This being said, the rapid rise in Etna’s fashionability has given us few aged Carricate wines of grace and complexity at this stage.”
“It can be vinified as a fresh, aromatic style, with more than a nod to Sauvignon Blanc, but the best traditional styles have a distinctive savoury note. Ageing can turn it into something closer to Chenin Blanc or Riesling, with spicy, honeyed flavours replacing the primary fruit. Etna Bianco Superiore wines, which must come from the commune of Milo, frequently live up to their superior name. It goes without saying that both red and white Etna wines tend to have wonderful minerality, with smoky or flinty notes, and – in the whites – a salty, iodine tang on the finish.”
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Some Descriptions of Carricante Wines
“As a varietal wine, Carricante produces a fresh, straw-yellow, lightly fragrant white wine…Wines made from it tend to by high in total acidity with a low pH and have traditionally been subject to malolactic fermentation.”
“On the whole, Carricante wines offer a broad range of refreshing citrus aromas – anything from lemon and lime to grapefruit to orange – alongside cooling herbal notes such as mint and aniseed. An underlying mineral, slatey character is also to be found in the finest examples. When aged in stainless steel and without lees contact, notes of tart green apple shine through – a searing reminder of the variety’s naturally high acidity. Weightier Carricante wines (particularly later-harvested examples) are complemented by honeyed hints and the creamy texture that results from lees contact.”
“ The vine Carricante vinified alone gives a particularly fine wine, of straw yellow color with green highlights. The wine has good aromas with hints of herbs, fragrant and floral. It has a good taste structure, it is warm, savory and characterized by a high fixed acidity that makes it particularly suitable for aging in wood and the preservation over time.”
“The Carricante grape has become synonymous with the dry, pungent and incredibly energetic white wines of the fashionable eastern Sicilian region, Etna. While Sicily is largely semi-arid and hot, Etna’s volcanic soils and altitude infuse Carricante with a ferocious mineral presence, aromas of pungent lemon oil, and a tensile structure; all of which belie the grape variety’s southern Mediterranean origins…Carricante boasts febrile acidity (particularly high malic levels) and a phenolic carapace, suggesting that the best wines…will age very well indeed. This being said, the rapid rise in Etna’s fashionability has given us few aged Carricate wines of grace and complexity at this stage.”
“It can be vinified as a fresh, aromatic style, with more than a nod to Sauvignon Blanc, but the best traditional styles have a distinctive savoury note. Ageing can turn it into something closer to Chenin Blanc or Riesling, with spicy, honeyed flavours replacing the primary fruit. Etna Bianco Superiore wines, which must come from the commune of Milo, frequently live up to their superior name. It goes without saying that both red and white Etna wines tend to have wonderful minerality, with smoky or flinty notes, and – in the whites – a salty, iodine tang on the finish.”