Malvasia delle Lipari DOC 'Natural' 2019 (500 ml) Hauner

THE WINE

Malvasia delle Lipari natural by Hauner originates from the heart of the volcanic island of Salina. It is made up almost entirely of Malvasia grapes, with small additions of Corinto Nero grapes. The bunches are harvested late and left to dry in the sun and then subjected to crushing. Vinification in steel and final refinement in the bottle. It is a golden yellow nectar with greenish reflections. Rich, broad and aromatic nose ranging from fresh ripe fruit (apricot, figs, medlar) to aromatic notes of lavender and thyme with a light almond finish that gives great finesse. Sweet and immediate taste with great sapidity and freshness, warm and enveloping with a long persistence. Excellent companion to spoon desserts, it goes very well with blue and spicy cheeses.

THE COMPANY

Carlo Hauner, of mixed background from Brescia who transplanted himself to the Aeolian islands, was the creator of the agricultural firm that carries his name. As a young man, Hauner was a painter and, not yet 20 years old, exhibited at the Biennale di Venezia. As he matured as a designer, he obtained relevant success in the international field. His passion for winemaking can be viewed as the ultimate challenge of an intense life scattered with interests. In 1963, he arrived in the Aeolian Islands for the first time, when tourism dared making its first timid appearance. After several summer vacations, which became more and more extended in the seventies, Hauner transferred to Salina. Always a bit curious and restless, he became attracted to the cultivation of Malvasia, a grape which local farmers harvest the second half of September and sundry for two weeks or so on mats, making the famous Passito della Lipari. According to the traditional method, the grapes are exposed out in the open on trellises and taken in at sunset. Hauner learned the local winemaking techniques like this and integrated them with the study of modern and ancient standards. When he decided that his acquired knowledge and creativity could give a contribution to a wine, that in the past was considered famous as the "nectar of the gods", he goes searching for plots of land which had remained uncultivated due to the large emigration of thousands of Aeolians to Australia and America. Hauner succeeds in putting together twenty hectares which he renovates, restoring the ancient terraces and reviving them as vineyards. He introduces some new innovations: he withers the grape on the vine and experiments with cooling techniques during fermentation. Small revolutions that fascinate the experts, beginning with Veronelli, a famous wine critic, which brings Hauner's Malvasia to the tables of prestigious restaurants, first in Italy and then in France, the United States, Great Britain, Japan and other countries. Hauner's new winery springs up in the eighties in Lingua, a small charming suburb of Santa Marina Salina. The winery's building is built in Aeolian style equipped with a modern refrigeration installation and stainless steel casks which are stacked side by side with oak barrels used for aging wines, with a total wine capacity of 1.200 hectoliters. The new winery's inauguration coincides with the ever-growing interest which revived Malvasia among critics, journalists, television stations, producers and wine enthusiasts of world-class wines. Visits to the winery by Carlo Hauner, a well-known personality, become more and more frequent, contributing to the widening fame of the Aeolian archipelago and the prestigious wine produced there. It was during these years that the winery adds to the Malvasia, II Salina Bianco, II Salina Rosso, Carlo Hauner Bianco aged in barrique and Antonello Rosso, a wine of grand extraction aged in barrique. After the death of Carlo Hauner in February 1996, the company is energetically led by his son Carlo Junior with the precious collaboration of his wife Cristina and his sons Andrea e Michele. Today, nearly 50,000 bottles are produced of Malvasia subdivided in two versions: naturale and passito. Numerous other local producers added their harvested grapes to the winery's vineyards, allowing them to become part of the winery's production. Many of these producers have returned to vineyard cultivation after this traditional sweet wine from the Aeolian Islands became so popular, thanks to the Hauner family. Hauner also produces capers, flavorful buds that were the first to label the phrase, "Capers from Salina". In the caper or wine labels, we find the forms and colors so loved by their creator, Hauner: the Aeolian architecture, the colors in Salina's vegetation (defined as Isola Verde by all the tourist brochures), the reds and oranges of the moon and dawn, the black of the volcano, the blue of the sea. These labels are reproductions of Hauner's artwork.