IDDA means ‘she’ in the Sicilian dialect which is a term of endearment and awe which Sicilian’s refer to her, being Etna.

Angelo Gaja’s interest in the region of Mount Etna began when his friend Giacomo Tachis first introduced him to these wines in the late 1990’s. Giacomo Tachis is the oenologist who worked with Piero Antinori creating Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia. At that time Angelo had his hands full with the development of Pieve Santa Resistuta in Brunello and their Bolgheri winery Ca’Marcanda.

Fast forward to present times Angelo Gaja met Alberto Graci in 2015. Alberto Graci owns one of the most respected wineries on Mount Etna, situated on the North Eastern slopes of the mountain, in Passopisciaro. With the realisation of how well aligned the two families were both in terms of the values and approach to wine production they decided to form a joint venture, IDDA, at the end of 2016.

The first vintage of IDDA Rosso came in 2017, followed by the introduction of IDDA Bianco from 2018.

“I believe that old age starts when the regrets are more than the dreams and Etna was something that I have been feeling under the skin for some time. The project is just beginning and it will move forward according to the nature of the wine; however Etna, like Langhe, is a place where elegant, enigmatic and intriguing wines can be made. I also took into consideration the challenges of climate change; indeed, I find it important the fact that Etna has the highest vineyards in Europe and the harvest period is among the latest on the continent” – Angelo Gaja

“Angelo and I share the same interpretation of Etna, and we will work hard to realize that interpretation. We are looking for elegance and electricity. Very few places on earth can make wines with those qualities, and Etna is one of them. We approach this venture with humility because we recognize that Etna is stronger than everything, and everyone else. Etna will dictate the identity of the wine we make and we will follow. We will follow the volcano” – Alberto Graci