When I picture the most striking vineyard landscapes, there’s always a dramatic element that comes into focus: a sea of riverbed stones in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, rows of whole fossils scattered in Chablis, or a blanket of soft white chalk in the vineyards of Vertus. But one of the most evocative terroirs I have laid eyes on is ashy and black and littered with grit. It’s volcanic, and it’s the theme among the wines in today’s sampler.
     The most explicit examples we’ve selected are from Sicily, grown on Mount Etna’s fertile agricultural land by the sea. Grottafumata’s “Lato Sud,” made from the Carricante grape, smells of fresh apricot and nepitella (a type of mint that grows on the island) but it tastes stunningly saline, a recurring attribute in each of the whites we selected. Sylvain Fadat’s “Les Cocalières” is a blend of grapes like Vermentino and Roussanne that grow on the curvature of a crater formed by an underwater explosion hundreds of millions of years ago. Mixed in with the basalt soil are fossils, giving way to a wine that belies its warm climate with precision and minerality. Davide Vignato’s vines in Gambellara mature atop horizontal bands of craggy basalt that in some places jut from the earth in geometric spikes. You’ll find pronounced texture in his “El Gian,” as well as a hint of lime.
     Then there are the reds, “I Nove Fratelli” from Sicily’s Masseria del Pino–a playful, but brooding wine grown on the slopes of Etna–and “Kròs,” a Nebbiolo, Croatina and Bonarda blend from Matteo Baldin in Alto Piemonte. Humbly labeled vino rosso, it hails from the Bramaterra DOC, and it is one of the most exciting reds I’ve tasted recently. It has a distinct perfume of rosemary and morello cherry, and at my table it effortlessly washed down a charred flank steak cooked rare which underscored the wine’s smoky side. Perhaps the most unexpected wine you’ll find in this sampler is from Nicole Chanrion, whose Côte-de-Brouilly grows in a soil called pierre bleue. The wine is fruity and energetic with a touch of gunflint. Try it with warm pita dipped in muhammara, a sweet and spicy red pepper spread.