Frank Cornelissen at the Food Co-op

September 20, 2021 The Food Co-op

By James Robinson, Your Co-op Sommelier

Munjebel 2019 IGP Terre Siciliane

Susucaru 2019 I.G.P. Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese

There are few names in the natural wine world that are as imbued with as much mystique as ‘Frank Cornelissen’ – and justifiably so.

A Belgian by birth – Cornelissen, a winemaker, alchemist, grape whisperer and master of vinicultural mojo – owns and farms 19 acres high on Sicily’s Mount Etna.

His focus is the high altitude growing and fermentation of classic Sicilian varietals such as Nerello Mascalese, and he approaches his craft with a minimalist, low intervention approach – no sprays, no chemicals, no manipulation in the cellar. As a matter of course, Cornelissen eschews most, if not all, conventional farming and winemaking practices. He aims to let the fruit and terroir speak for themselves.

“Our farming philosophy is based on our acceptance of the fact that man will never be able to understand nature’s full complexity and interactions,” Cornelissen writes on his web site. “We therefore choose to concentrate on observing and learning the movements of Mother Earth in her various energetic and cosmic passages and prefer to follow her indications as to what to do, instead of deciding and imposing ourselves. Consequently this has taken us to avoiding all possible interventions on the land we cultivate, including any treatments, whether chemical, organic, or biodynamic, as these are all a mere reflection of the inability of man to accept nature as she is and will be. The divine ability to understand the ‘Whole’ was obviously not given to man as we are only a part of this complex and not God himself.”

Cornelissen’s zealous approach to natural winemaking underscores his effort to make the cleanest, purest wines that truly express Mount Etna’s unique, mineral-driven terroir.

According to natural wine importer Zev Rovine, “The evolution in his wines is intriguing as well. Earlier vintages were linear, angular, precise, and full of minerality. He has often said that in the early days his goal was to create liquid stone. His wines have softened with time now striking balance between fruit and dynamic minerality.

“While there are are many important details in his winemaking method, the key is in the vineyards. Frank is not Sicilian, so choosing Mount Etna was deliberate. The main reason to choose the North Valley of Etna was for its incredible and unique diversity of volcanic soils that have an immutable voice. This in tandem with Etna’s primary varietal Nerello Mascalese, he believed he could make wines of great complexity and distinction. He has describes Nerello Mascalese to be somewhere between Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo. Frank’s best wines have the dry and sharp tannins you find in great Nebbiolo, but with the lusher fruits of Pinot Noir.”

“Imagine pouring in a half a bottle of a Côtes-de-Nuits Villages and half a bottle of Barbabresco of a good vintage and tasting this ‘cocktail’ after half an hour. This will give you a good idea of an Etna Rosso wine: fragrant, light color, fine tannins, structure and elegance. Obviously missing the distinct touch of sunshine and Mediterranean generosity of a real Etna Rosso,” according to Cornelissen.

Cornelissen works without the use of herbicides, pesticides, nor any other chemicals. He occasionally uses biodynamic treatments, but not in the ways outlined by biodynamic calendars as he feels his vineyards have their own unique schedule.

In the winery, Cornelissen’s work follows the same philosophy of using what nature provides him. There are no industrial yeasts, sulfites, or anything else added to the wines. All of the wines are fermented in small, neutral tanks and no wood is used in the cellar in order for all the wines to express their specific territory to the full extent. Cornelissen uses neutral epoxy tanks and amphorae buried in volcanic rock because he likes the round shape which allows the wines to be nourished with the fine lees moving freely during the aging process.

Cornelissen’s makes just a few thousand cases of his highly coveted cuvees each year and of those, scant few bottles make it to retailers’ shelves. While most bottles make it only as far as the big cities, nine bottles found their way to the Port Townsend Food Co-op, where they are tucked in on Aisle 5 and are available on a first come first served basis.

‘SUSUCARU’ ROSSO 2019

Region: Sicily

Grape: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Capuccio, Minella Nera, Alicante Bouschet, Minella Bianco

Vineyard Size: 19 hectares

Soil: volcanic

Average Age of Vines: 50 years

Farming: organic

Harvest: by hand

Winemaking: destemmed, gentle press, 60 day spontaneous fermentation in epoxy tanks with indigenous yeasts

Aging: in epoxy tanks

Fining: none

Filtration: 3 micron cartrdiges

Added S02: none

‘MUNJEBEL’ ROSSO 2019