In 2000, Andrea Franchetti decided to restore an old farm and cellars on the slopes of the active volcano Etna in northeastern Sicily. The winery is located about a kilometer above the small wine town of Passopisciaro in the Sicilian region of Castiglione on the northern slopes of the volcano.
He focuses on the local grape Nerello Mascalese and its various terroir and altitude expressions through a range of crus, as well as Chardonnay, Petit Verdot and Cesanese d'Affile varieties.
Franchetti produces nine different wines in Passopisciaro, six of which focus on the Nerello Mascalese grape. Wine Passorosso is a bright, holistic rendering of the grape, unique and ubiquitous, blended in different altitudes and terroirs. During the first few years of winemaking on the volcano, Franchetti realized that once the Nerello grapes arrived in the cellar, they produced different wines depending on the region they came from; starting in 2008, he began bottling the top sites individually, helping to make wine at Etna The Kru system was introduced. The five Contrada wines – Contrada C, Contrada P, Contrada G, Contrada S and Contrada R – all come from vineyards of varying ages, each on lava flows with different minerals, grain sizes and altitudes.
In 2005, he began working on a striking red he gave his name to, Franchetti, made with Petit Verdot and Cesanese d'Affile grapes, filled with sweet spices, balsamic vinegar and plums, woven together to Very elegant. In 2007 he produced his first Guardiola Bianco, now Passobianco, a 100% Chardonnay grown at 850-1000 meters above sea level with a fresh, mineral and aromatic profile reminiscent of Burgundy Grand white wine.
Since 2018 he also produces the exclusive Chardonnay Contrada PC from small and painstaking terraces planted between 870 and 950 meters, where production is naturally limited and the ripeness is very special and complex.