ALWAYS CONTEMPORARYTHE BENANTI FAMILY

An innovative vision with the goal of producing excellent wines: this is the Benanti credo, a long-etsablished family with Bolognese origins that boasts a centuries-old history. The Sicilian branch of the Benanti family was born in 1734, when a descendant was sent to Sicily by Vittorio Amedeo d’Aosta. At the end of the nineteenth century Giuseppe Benanti began producing wine from local Etna grapes. Since those first vintages, generations of our family have been in love with making wine on the volcano, and we have transformed a passion into mastery for enhancing the peculiarities of indigenous vines in a territory that is indomitable and diverse. The research and creation of authentic wines, capable of celebrating the Etna terroir in its various expressions, have become a distinctive feature of our production.

The Benanti family has been instrumental in Etna’s viticulture throughout history, contributing first hand to its evolution. Now managed by Giuseppe Benanti’s two sons, Antonio and Salvino Benanti, the winery has an annual production of about 170,000 bottles that are distributed throughout the most important markets worldwide.

1988

Inspired by the ambition to achieve quality standards of absolute excellence in the Etna area, fostering the indigenous varieties, Giuseppe Benanti founded the current winery with the name “Tenuta di Castiglione”. He formed authoritative collaborations with Prof. Rocco Di Stefano of the Experimental Institute for Oenology in Asti, Prof. Jean Siegrist of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique of Beaune in Burgundy, and expert winemakers Gian Domenico Negro and Marco Monchiero from the Langhe region in Piedmont, who for many years joined their young Etna counterpart Salvo Foti in the winemaking effort. This important pioneering work established Giuseppe Benanti as the universal precursor of contemporary Etna viticulture.

1998

Ten years after its foundation, and assuming the family name in the early 90s, Benanti becomes the first Etna winery with a presence on every slope of the Etna DOC area. It is a choice that places Benanti among the pioneers who defined growing zones around the volcano.

2010

Benanti completes a comprehensive five-year experiment aimed at selecting indigenous Etna yeasts in the vineyard and cellar. This unprecedented research leads to the isolation and propagation of four proprietary strains, still considered a unique achievement today.

FIND OUT MOREHistory

Pioneers and protagonists in every era of Etna’s winemaking history.

1734
1734A descendant of the Benati family moves from Bologna to Catania with a noble title and a mandate from Vittorio Amedeo d’Aosta to found the Sicilian branch of the Benanti family.
1890
1890Giuseppe Benanti begins amateur winemaking at the family estate in Viagrande.
1935
1935Dr. Antonino Benanti refocuses his attention on his work as a pharmacist in Catania. While maintaining the family passion for winemaking, he founds SIFI, a pharmaceutical company destined for success.
1988
1988Cavaliere Giuseppe Benanti, son of Dr. Antonino Benanti, establishes the winery then named "Tenuta di Castiglione" with owned and rented vineyards in Castiglione di Sicilia (Etna North) and Milo (Etna East). The immediate choice is to produce the highest quality wines exclusively from native grapes. The first trials include more than 150 micro-vinifications that focus on traditional Etna blends and individual grape varieties, an absolute revolution for those times.
1990
1990After two experimental harvests, this is the first vintage designated for bottling by the winery: Pietra Marina Etna Bianco Superiore and Rovittello Etna Rosso are the first two wines released by the winery.
1995
1995Benanti begins a collaboration with the Vacirca family, established vinegrowers in Contrada Cavaliere in Santa Maria di Licodia (Etna South-west).
1998
1998Ten years after its foundation, the winery expands its production at Monte Serra in Viagrande (Etna South-East), the area of origin of Giuseppe Benanti's grandfather; Benanti becomes the first Etna winery with a presence on all slopes of the volcano.
2002
2002Benanti is the first producer of a traditional method sparkling wine from Etna made exclusively from Carricante grapes.
2005
2005The winery initiates a thorough five-year trial to select and isolate indigenous Etna yeasts, which in 2010 results in four proprietary patents.
2007
2007PIETRA MARINA Etna Bianco Superiore is the first Etna wine to obtain the “Tre Bicchieri” award from the Gambero Rosso/Slow Wine Guide, which in that year also names Benanti as the Italian Winery of the Year.
2012
2012Cavaliere Giuseppe Benanti's two sons, Salvino and Antonio, already seasoned ambassadors of the family’s values, philosophy and mission, assume guiding roles in the winery.
2018
2018Antonio Benanti is elected President of the prestigious Consorzio di Tutela dei Vini Etna D.O.C., the consortium of Etna wine producers.