Filippo Mangione grew up in Agrigento on Sicily’s southern coast. He comes from a winemaking family, who for generations tended vines and made wine in their palmento (open-topped stone fermenter). When his grandfather passed away in the ’60s the vineyards and building were sold off, leaving his family without an estate. In 2011, walking the slopes of Etna while looking for a location for “his own project,” Filippo met the old owner of a nearly abandoned vineyard in Calderara Sottana who wanted someone to continue his life’s work. He spent his savings to buy it. It was originally planted in the early 1900s behind a grove of chestnut trees. The vineyards of Ayunta, now several parcels spread throughout the top terroirs (namely the contrada of Calderara Sottana) around Randazzo on northern Etna, are made up of very old vines. Filippo guesses some are as much as 200 years old, and every vine is different. Filippo is a passionate and dedicated vigneron, making layered and elegant wine that sings of this unique place—with a focus on bringing out the best personality of the terroir and the indigenous grapes from Mount Etna. Seeking elegance, balance and freshness, Filippo looks to obtain the pure taste of the terroir and all the differences in each vintage of each vineyard.