Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

Mountain wines, awards ceremony in Palermo

Palermo will host the XXI edition of International Mountain and Small Island Wine Competition, organized by Cervim, the Research, Study and Enhancement Center for Mountain Viticulture, in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Resources of the Sicily Region and the Sicilian Wines and Oils Institute. 

 

On Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September, at the NH Hotel in Palermo, producers from nine countries will meet to create one of the most important wine events for industry experts and wine lovers.

The Competition is in fact the only international event dedicated to wines produced in mountain areas and small islands, with the aim of enhancing their unique characteristics and making the cultural aspects connected to viticulture practiced in difficult cultivation areas known and appreciated. and the precious activity that winemakers carry out to defend the territory and the environment.

And Sicily, chosen for the first time to host the event, due to the characteristics of some vineyard territories such as those of Etna or the Madonie, or even those present in the Aeolian islands, in Favignana or Pantelleria, appears to be an ideal place for welcoming wines that are the pride of the territories they represent, an expression of great commitment, love for the land, man's work, wisdom that is handed down from father to son, emblem of a heritage of the highest quality that must be protected and spread. Sicily then expresses various personalities within CERVIM, from Dr. Baldo Giarraputo Board Member to the oenologist Gianni Giardina, in the Scientific Committee of this international organization recognized and appreciated for its seriousness and assistance to producers who practice this particular viticulture.

They will be 210 award-winning wines, up 648 members from Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. 371 Italian wines. In the list of those present, this year there were also wines from the Canary Islands and, for the first time, a wine from Armenia.

Overall, 8 major gold medals, 92 gold medals and 110 silver medals will be awarded.

Furthermore, 13 special awards will be awarded, including the "BIO CERVIM 2013" award dedicated to the best organic wine, the "PICCOLE ISOLE CERVIM 2013" award intended for the best wine produced in the small islands and the "FUTURO 2013" award assigned to a young winemaker under the age of 35.

 

“Our region holds a series of territories in which frontier viticulture is practiced – explains Dario Cartabellotta, Councilor for Agricultural Resources of the Sicily Region -. The pioneers were those who invested on Etna but, even before that, there were the farmers of Pantelleria who built terraces and dry stone walls and grew low vines to protect them from the wind. This priceless heritage must be protected and must be able to generate economy, jobs and environmental protection. We believe in this viticulture and in those who have invested and who continue to take care of vineyards and produce extraordinary wines such as the wines of Etna, the Malvasie delle Lipari and the Passito di Pantelleria. I couldn't imagine modern oenology without these age-old symbols. Looking to the future, remunerating those who cultivate the vineyard in extreme conditions, without forgetting that that farmer or that company, in fact, are sentinels in defense of a unique and unrepeatable environment".

“We are used to wines that come from vines in flat areas – states Giorgio Calabrese, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Sicilian Wines and Oils Institute – but, in recent years, we have discovered and appreciated more and more wines from mountain vines. Wines which, due to the effect of the altitude and the sun's rays, are richer in polyphenols and for this reason, drunk in moderation, certainly have beneficial effects on our health".

To confirm the happy moment of the wines of the Sicilian islands, one of the 8 Grand Gold Medals will be assigned to the Malvasia delle Lipari Doc Passito 2010 from the Fenech Organic Farm.

                                                                                                 

 

The program

Saturday 28 September at 6pm, after the presentation of Cervim by the president Roberto Gaudio and the director Gianluca Macchi, the round table will begin "Future perspectives of mountain and small island viticulture", in which François Murisier, president of the Cervim Technical Scientific Committee, will take part; Baldo Giarraputo, of the Cervim Board of Directors; the Director of Cervim Gianluca Macchi; the general manager of the Infrastructure department of the Department of Agricultural and Food Resources of the Sicilian Region Rosaria Barresi and Lucio Monte, general director of the Institute of Wines and Oils of Sicily. The conclusions will be entrusted to Giorgio Calabrese, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Institute of Wines and Oils of Sicily and to the Regional Councilor for Agricultural Resources Dario Cartabellotta.  

Finally, for professionals and experts in the sector, there will be a guided tasting of the eight wines that won the Grand Gold Medal, curated by the oenologist Gianni Giardina, member of the Cervim scientific committee.

Sunday 29 September at 5pm the awards ceremony of the XXI International Mountain and Small Island Wine Competition will begin with the delivery of certificates to the winners.

Italy will receive 6 major gold medals, 38 gold and 48 silver. 28 gold and 22 silver for Spain. Germany will take home one large gold medal, 16 gold and 24 silver medals. A great gold medal also for Switzerland and then 15 gold and 12 silver. 4 gold and 1 silver for France. One gold and one silver for Slovenia and 3 gold medals for Austria. 

At 7pm the tasting stands of the winning wines will open to the public.