Sciara 980 metri IGT Terre Sicilane Rosso 2023
The Wine
The 980 Metri from Stef is labelled Terre Siciliane Rosso because the vineyards that compose the blend are situated around quota mille — 1,000 metres altitude — beyond which a Mount Etna red wine can no longer carry the Etna Rosso designation. It’s an altitude limit Stef is particularly happy to push and conquer.
Crafted from three hand-tended vineyards in the contradas of Carrana, Barbabecchi and Monte Dolce, all sitting between 840 and 1,000 metres (average 980).
The vineyard work is all done by hand, with no irrigation, chemical fertilisation or pesticides applied.
The blend is 100% Nerello Mascalese from old vines (50 to 80+ years old), trained on both goblet and double cordon, sitting on the purest volcanic soils — almost a lunar terroir scattered with black ash, rock and sand.
The grapes are hand-picked and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wine is then transferred to a combination of French oak barrels, ceramic vases and glass containers for 19 months of élevage.
No fining, stabilisation or additions at any stage, aside from a splash of SO2 at bottling for stability.
Quota Mille is a special spot on Mount Etna; its wines are always so fine yet dense, supple yet stony. This has always been Team Franc’s favourite wine from Stef, for its supple, perfumed Burgundian profile.
Pics 2 & 3: Our 1 on 1 dinner with Stef at the Centennial Hotel 27 July 26
The Details
Variety - Nerello Mascalese
Country - Italy
Region - Sicily
Sub Region - Etna
Extra - Cork
Year - 2023
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Founded in 2015 by Stef Yim, Azienda Agricola Sciara is one of Mount Etna’s most compelling young estates — built on altitude, instinct, and hand-farmed volcanic ground. A former Los Angeles sommelier turned winemaker, Stef arrived on Etna in 2014 and now farms nine contrade across the volcano’s northern and southern slopes, including Contrada Cielo — planted by hand in 2019 at 1,520 metres, making it Europe’s highest vineyard!
The name Sciara refers to the volcanic scoriae that mark Etna’s slopes, echoed in the estate’s labels and its philosophy: wines conceived around altitude rather than single contrada, grown on 100% volcanic soil, farmed without machinery or chemical inputs, and certified organic from 2023. In the winery, there’s no fixed method — just minimal intervention, no fining or filtration, and SO2 kept below 30mg/litre at bottling.
Micro volumes, old vines, and one of Etna’s most exacting reads on volcanic terroir.
