Milan, October 2025 – Graduation with honors for Alta Mora Etna Bianco DOC Arrigo 2022 from Cusumano, one of the most popular wine producers nationally and internationally, which was awarded as “Best White Wine” with a vote of 110 laude, the maximum possible reserved for a small selection of wines of absolute excellence,  by Le Guide dell’Espresso 2026, now in its 46th edition. In fact, there are only seven wineries in Italy that have reached the maximum level: the aforementioned Cusumano with Alta Mora Etna Bianco DOC Arrigo (Sicily), then Castello di Ama (Tuscany), Elvio Cogno (Piedmont), Ferrari Trento (Trentino AA), Giovanni Rosso (Piedmont), Podere Forte (Tuscany) and Tenuta Sette Ponti (Tuscany).

“A wine that is the result of the best Carricante grapes grown in the Arrigo district, from which it takes its name, on the northern side of Etna – explains Diego Cusumano, winemaker and owner, with his brother Alberto, of the Sicilian winery of the same name – The freshness of the soils allows the full ripeness of Carricante without distorting its aromas, enhancing the character and complexity of this native volcanic vine.”

A low mountain Carricante capable of dialoguing in a surprising way with time, returning a location of disarming beauty. This is how Luca Gardini, wine critic, world champion of sommeliers and curator of L’Espresso’s Guide to the 1000 Wines of Italy motivated and awarded the award as well as the maximum score for labels that represent the pinnacle of Italian wine production at Alta Mora Etna Bianco DOC Arrigo 2022.

The latest born Cusumano, produced in just 3,899 bottles, sees the light in an area at 610 meters above sea level, in ancient soil, rich in organic matter, made of volcanic sands and lava stones dating back to a flow in 1180, where it meets on one side the mountain air of Etna and on the other the sea breeze that comes from Taormina. The strong temperature variations between day and night thus favor a slow ripening, which preserves freshness and flavor. Aging then takes place in a cellar designed according to modern underground architecture, thermoregulated by lava rock and sheltered from light and temperature changes.

“The Arrigo district is a place without equal in Italy and in the world – underlines Diego Cusumano – and the Alta Mora Etna Bianco DOC Arrigo 2022 confirms this unrepeatable identity made up of contrasts. This recognition repays us for the hard work we put into the production of Alta Mora wines, as well as for each of our labels. We dedicate five thousand hours of work to each one: from the care of the plants to the selection of the bunches, from the harvest to the cellar. But this is the time needed to ensure that each grape arrives intact, to vinify it and accompany it until aging”.

Cusumano Press Office
Purple & Noise PR