I recently made some wonderful wine discoveries and am hereby very pleased to share them with you. One of them is found in the Etna Rossa appellation. Etna, that gigantic, still-active volcano in the heart of Italy’s Sicily.

The volcanic earth fairly bursts with exceptional qualities for growing grapes. You’ll find here several indigenous species going back more than 50 years. Nonetheless, a more industrial style of culture slowed the forward motion of this unique terroir for quite a long time. Happily, recent years have favoured the emergence of a new generation of Sicilian vintners, which has made a major contribution to the recovery of these indigenous grapes.

You’ll find Marco de Grazia at the head of the movement; he’s a vintner originally from Tuscany who is a true connoisseur of Burgundian wine cultivation. His Domaine, or estate, made up of black earth, has several small parcels of vines between 50 and 100 years old. Here they practice organic agriculture that has been put forward since 2002. Certification was obtained in 2010. His Terre Nere vintage offers an easy-to-digest wine, fine and silky, with aromas of red berries and floral notes. Succulent and fresh!

Wine from Quebec, labelle province 
There’s nothing Sicilian about Léon Courville, however. And yet he is an equally authentic vintner. In Estrie – loosely, the Eastern Townships of Quebec – on the slopes close to Brome Lake, an 18-hectare vineyard boasts 80,000 grape vines. Whereas most of the wines from here in Quebec develop high acidity because of the cool climate, his Réserve de St-Pépin is a fruity wine low in acidity. The rustic grape, well adapted to the rigours of winter, tolerates temperatures as low as -30^°Celsius.

This wine, which has a velvety texture, where the scent of lightly roasted hazelnuts mixes perfectly with that of blood oranges, surprised and charmed me. A nice balance of flavours and a texture reminiscent of certain wines from the Rhône valley.

A white grape from west-central Italy, the Verdicchio is another good discovery made last year which I have found again, with pleasure, this spring. A dry wine, straightforward and vibrant with light floral notes.

So let’s lift our glasses to summer and its hot days of idleness, well basted with wine.

• Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Etna Rosso, 2016  SAQ 12711176  $27.95
• Leon Courville, Réserve St-Pépin, 2014  SAQ 10919723  $28.60
• Velenosi, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, 2017 SAQ 11155665  $15.95