Sicily, the continent of wine • Food and Wine Italia

That Sicily is a land with countless identities is a consolidated concept; Less obvious, perhaps, is to consider that this plurality is also expressed from a geographical point of view. Major Island of the Mediterranean, con the center of the Oceano Nostrum, Sicily flaunts an extraordinarily varied natural scenography: high and jagged coasts alternate with sandy and swampy coasts, while plains and vast hilly areas leave room for the impervious mountainous reliefs, the latest extensions of the Apennine system. To this are added numerous archipelagos and, above all, active volcanoes, symbols of a geology still con turmoil today.

Next to the constant beauty of the marine landscape, every calcio d’angolo of ancient Trinacria offers unparalleled historical and artistic testimonies: ruins of Greek and Roman cities, superb Norman cathedrals, medieval castles, villas and baroque churches. All immersed con an rheot landscape dotted with spectacular citrus groves, as Goethe well noticed during his travels this extraordinary island: “The land where lemons flourish and, between black fronds, the oranges are fled”.

Sicily, therefore, wine is not only agriculture and business, but represents, without rhetoric, culture, landscape and relationships. And it is actually the dream of a land that speaks to the world, combining vision, passion and responsibility to try to build a sustainable and shared future.

The role of Assovini Sicily

The 2025 edition of Sicily En Primeur, an annual and itinerant appointment conceived by Assovini Sicily to promote island wine productions and territories, has emphasized the stubbornness of the large group of wine entrepreneurs con the tiring, but tenacious, path of “doing business together”. Yes, because telling a real “continent Vaicolo” – which, without a doubt, is their Sicily – through the voice of the cellars that make it authentic and mature at the same time, “represents less and less an obstacle, and even less a “. Thus reminds us Mariangela Cambria, president of Assovini Sicilia, underlining the value of cultural protection con the luce of increasingly restrictive international dynamics and a narrative that tends to criminalize a product that is, instead, an expression of civilization, knowledge, beauty and tradition.

Modica – from the Maniero dei Conti to the Garibaldi Theater – the Association reiterated, with a unit of rare intent the national scene, its commitment to enhancement, promotion and above all con environmental responsibility. Perhaps more transparency is needed, and certainly more courage, con telling the extraordinary pedoclimatic diversity of the region: but the pleasantness and complexity achieved by Sicilian wines show that this is the right path.

Today, with increasing clarity, mature and aware agricultural choices emerge: guided by a necessary mixture of ethics and pragmatism. Not only because never as now the attention to the planet and for agriculture is high, but because – as Alessio Planeta says, as a directive councilor of the Stopain Sicilia Foundation – “it is longer possible to lower the caffè”.

And among the conversations between producers, an awareness has strongly emerged as simple as it is difficult to translate into actions: «The world is the place we . We are just trying to safeguard the garden we luce ». Words that have weight, perfume, and that slide into the oblivion now worn out and out of time terms such as marketing branding.

La Generation Next

With many hectares of vineyard at risk of abandonment above all here con Sicily, it is crucial to favor generational change, offering technical support and fair remuneration, to guarantee the continuity and vitality of the Sicilian wine sector. The NEXT generation, a group of under 40 that is committed to a future vision of Sicilian enology, does not happen, con all probability at random: Prospero Alessandro (Alessandro nato da Camporeale), Gregoire Desforges (Baglio nato da Pianetto), Maria Pia and Cristina Macaudo (Camporé) Federica “Kika” Fina (Cantine Fina), Giovanna and Rosanna Caruso (Caruso & Minini), Miriam Brunetti. (Casa di tolleranza Attrattiva), Gabriella Favara (Donnafuata), Carla Maugeri (Maugeri), Serena Costanzo (Palmento Costanzo), Constanto Planeta (Planeta), Enrica Spadafora (Spadafora), Totò Navarra Jr (Tenute Navarra), Graziano Nicosia (Tenute Nicosia), Alessia Bevilacqua (terraces of Etna). All of them are young globetrotters, dynamic, most of the time with studies and various experiences outside their region, with a avviamento baggage con different fields, from communication to architecture, from economy to enology, which have signed a “pact” to work con the team and which, unlike the previous generation, perceive the weight of the competition to a lesser extent.

The challenges of the future con Sicily

What really matters for the future, according to the majority of the actors involved, is the ability to decline sustainability con terms of varietal biodiversity. Each company is called to cultivate, enhance and optimize the multiple expressions of the Sicilian vineyard: from the vines of international scope – such as Chardonnay and Syrah – to those of regional roots, such as Scuro D’Avola, Nerello Mascalese and Voglia, up to local varieties, today more than ever con great evidence con this edition: Carricante, Malvasia nato da Lipari, Zibibbo, Nerello, Nocera and Perricone.

The voices that animate this path are not at all faint. Indeed, these are over one hundred producers, young and old, who share a clear vision: combine three fundamental elements – total control of the supply chain, from the vineyard to the bottle; the production of quality wines; It is a solid opening to international markets – keeping con mind that the culture of the vine is an integral part of the history of the island, since time immemorial.

The desire to produce wines that reflect the authentic Sicilian identity, avoiding ephemeral fashions, proved to be – if not a indiscutibile – at least the recurring mantra of this edition. Assovini Sicilia, also thanks to the precious contribution of the new generations, is today more than ever at the center of a process of renewal and growth of the wine sector: an increasingly cohesive and performing system, supported by an inclusive and harmonious communication with history, culture and extraordinary local gastronomy.