Les Étrangers Vino Bianco 2025

Wine Description for Les Étrangers Vino Bianco 2025 by I Vigneri di Salvo Foti

Character

The name itself reveals the attitude: Les Étrangers – the strangers. A wine that deliberately steps outside the frame. Salvo Foti, one of the most significant custodians of Sicilian wine culture, plants Savagnin here – a grape variety you would expect to find in the Jura rather than at the foot of Mount Etna. The result is a white wine of great individuality: light-footed, with just 11.5% alcohol, dry and possessed of an energy that sparks curiosity. Not a wine for conventions – but for those with a taste for discovery.

Terroir & Origin

Sicily is no monolithic wine region, and Foti knows this better than most. His project I Vigneri is rooted in a profound engagement with the island’s volcanic soils, particularly around Mount Etna. These soils – mineral-rich, poor in organic matter, threaded through with lava stone – lend wines an unmistakable texture and tension. The Mediterranean climate with hot summers and cool nights at elevated altitudes creates the conditions for wines with freshness and depth, despite the southern sun.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Savagnin – known in France as the mother of Chardonnay and responsible in the Jura for the legendary Vins Jaunes – is a true outsider on Sicily, an Étranger in the literal sense. In Foti’s hands, it becomes not an experiment for experiment’s sake, but a craftsmanship statement: minimal intervention in the cellar, respect for the fruit, focus on liveliness and authenticity. The low alcohol content suggests early harvesting or cool vineyard sites – both in keeping with Foti’s philosophy of letting the wine breathe.

Food Pairing Suggestions

The lightness and freshness of this wine make it the ideal companion for seafood of any kind – grilled gamberi, mussels in white wine or crudo di pesce. It also harmonises beautifully with Sicilian antipasti, caponata or a mild goat’s cheese. For the adventurous, serve it with sushi or light Asian dishes – the minerality and acidity carry it far.