The most important and increasingly respected red grape on Etna, Nerello Mascalese, also known as Nerello Calabrese, makes fine, firm, pale but long-lived wines; dna profiling suggests it may be a cross of Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco. Total plantings in 2010 were nearly 3,000 ha/7,413 acres, many of the vines being extremely old. There were 508 ha/1,255 acres of Nerello Cappuccio whose wines are rather softer and earlier-maturing. See sicily.
