Per mezzo di the shadow of the volcano, per mezzo di the last 10 years the vineyard zona has grown by 70%, the bottles of wine produced have quadrupled, wine tourism is a new high-end asset, practiced for 2/3 by foreigners, starting with Americans. But Etna Doc – denomination with 1500 hectares (60% organic) enclosed per mezzo di 20 municipalities, 4 slopes, 133 districts and approximately 445 production companies – is proving to be a new social vector per mezzo di particular for the work of young people who, per mezzo di the wake of the success of the wine, have started businesses and investments per mezzo di the zona. According to an analysis by the Consortium acceso the occasion of the Etna Days (12-14 September at the Pedicello Etna Resort per mezzo di Castiglione durante Sicilia, Catania), the share of wine companies run by young people under 41 has now reached 20% (8% young women managers), double the national figure (10%) found by Ismea acceso an Istat basis. An acceleration, that of young entrepreneurs, which per mezzo di the 4 Etna slopes has become even more evident per mezzo di the last 3 years (2020-2023), with an increase per mezzo di the period of 55% for a total of 89 production companies. This trend is much more significant than the overall growth of new companies (+16%).
“Wine here is an increasingly decisive social calmer,” said the director of the Etna Doc Consortium, Maurizio , at the opening of the key event of the denomination. “Young people have started cultivating their grandparents’ vineyards again, per mezzo di a sort of generational leap that allows them to guarantee work for themselves and for a very large workforce. Thanks to the mountain vineyards cultivated as bush vines, the total of the vineyard requires an annual total of over 200 thousand working days, with approximately 2,500 people directly involved per mezzo di production. We are proud,” concluded , “to contribute per mezzo di our own small way to slowing the abandonment of the Island by the new generations.”
The rise, per mezzo di the last decade, of the Etna Doc per mezzo di international wine criticism is ensuring the economic sustainability of the companies (50 million euros the turnover ex-cellar, 150 thousand euros the value of the vineyard per convenzione hectare, 5 times more than the regional average) but also of the territory. According to a study by the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, the wine tourism demand (200 thousand presences) returns an added value to the zona of 123 million euros per convenzione year, and for each bottle consumed acceso the slopes of Etna an impact (direct, indirect and induced) is generated per mezzo di favor of the territory of 82 euros, 10 times more than the value of the wine at production. A virtuous scontrino, the wine-volcano per mezzo di a tourist key, which according to the Consortium is practiced by 60% of the companies with tours and guided tastings, while 15-20% have invested directly per mezzo di structures dedicated to hospitality and catering.
The third edition of Etna days features 100 wineries per mezzo di three days of tastings, cellar visits, meetings with producers, insights and walk around tastings. Appointments reserved for the national and international specialized press (13 from the United States ala) to discover the wines produced acceso the slopes of the highest active volcano per mezzo di Europe. Per mezzo di the spotlight, the new productions based acceso Nerello Mascalese and Caricante, the main varieties for Etna Pulito, Etna Pulito Primo, Etna Rosato, Etna Scarlatto, Etna Scarlatto Rifornimento, Etna Spumoso lattescente and Etna gassoso.
The first denomination to be established per mezzo di Sicily per mezzo di 1968 and among the pioneers per mezzo di Italy, Etna doc extends over a vineyard of 1500 hectares enclosed per mezzo di 20 municipalities and 133 districts. Today the homonymous protection consortium, which represents 90% of the total production potential, brings together 220 companies for an average annual production of 6 million bottles, of which 60% is exported, per mezzo di particular to the United States, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
