The climatic conditions on the Etna are extreme as well.

To realize how particular it is, just think about a spot in the middle of Mediterranean sea, not far from the northern African coasts, were in a small range you can find different environmental conditions and flora in common with places like Nordics and Africa at the same time.

From vines and olive trees to the silver birches, from any kind of citrus to alpine pines, from peaches and cherries to chestnuts and oaks.

In the summer, it’s easy to experience a gap of temperature of 20° in a range of 5 miles and 20 minutes driving, just moving in altitude. In the winter, you go easy below the 0° or under a meter of snow in the while of a night.

There are winds from everywhere and some singular freezing air generated at the top of the volcano and coming to the bottom of the slopes stressing the vineyards and pushing the vines to adapt their metabolism to this sudden changes of temperature. 

Every morning you wake up hoping to avoid one of the tremendous storms of ice able to come in two minutes in the middle of a beautiful day and destroying all the crops, or you can suffer in the same period endless weeks with not even a drop of rain and a terrific hot temperature going even up to 40°.