“I’m a bit of a geek,” he says, pronouncing the word with a soft Italian “g.”

Depending on the vintage, Mr. Calabretta ages his wines for years before releasing them. His 2006 is just about to enter stores in New York. It is fruity yet lean, with the energy and minerality that Etna seems to confer on the best examples.

Etna is not just a mountain with a fuming crater at the summit. It has at least five different craters that spew ash and lava in myriad directions, and countless smaller vents. At Romeo del Castello, Ms. Vigo pointed out the twisted remains of a railroad track that had been engulfed in 1981 and now dangles in the lava wall like a piece of modern art.

Though the lava scorched and destroyed vines on the edge of the vineyard, Ms. Vigo pointed out a few vines that were now emerging from under the rock. The roots of a few vines had somehow survived the lava and began to grow again.

Ever resilient, like the Sicilians of Etna, they reappeared in 2014, more than 30 years later.