The Regional Institute, established in 1950, was born as a public body at the service of Sicilian viticulture, responsible for the protection, evolution and promotion of production. With LR 2/2007 the IRVV is recognized as a research body of the Sicilian Region. The organization has its headquarters in Palermo and peripheral offices in Alcamo, Marsala and Milazzo. It is also equipped with the experimental cellar “G. Dalmasso” in Marsala.
The field of intervention of the Institute is very vast and follows all stages of wine production: from the initial moment of planting and growing the vine, up to the last moment of the promotion of the finished product.
In 2011, with Regional Law No. 25 of 24 November 2011, the following powers were attributed in the field of oil:

a) enhancement and promotion of extra virgin olive oil produced and packaged in Sicily;
b) enhancement and promotion of table olives produced and packaged in Sicily;
c) certification, research and innovation in the olive-oil supply chain.

The Institute carries out:

experimentation and applied viticultural, oenological and microbiological research aimed at identifying viticultural models and oenological protocols to be transferred to companies; support for the competitiveness of Sicilian wineries on national and international markets, supporting them through appropriate promotional actions; participation in trade fairs, guided tastings, promotional campaigns aimed at publicizing the quality of the "Wines of Sicily" and spreading their positive image; controls and certification of Sicilian wine production with denomination of origin; oenochemical analyzes carried out by the laboratories of Palermo, Marsala, Alcamo and Milazzo accredited by the single national institution for accreditation ACCREDIA (with n. 0376) for the certification of oenological parameters, carrying out both applied research activities with Sicilian universities and services to companies; training and professional updating of sector operators; legislative advice to companies; collection, processing and dissemination of data from the wine sector; offer of scholarships for professional specialization for students or recent graduates in Oenology, Viticulture, Biology or Biotechnology.

The Institute has always considered and valorised the "cultural" peculiarity of wine, which is not a simple consumer product but a cultural asset, strongly innate with the territory, with the culture, history and local traditions, a product, therefore, rich in symbolic and cultural meanings. From this perspective, the Institute has always pursued a policy of cultural cooperation with other bodies aimed at the joint promotion of wine, the territory and Sicilian culture. The oil will be integrated into the Institute's activities in an organic way. In fact, wines and olive oil are two pillars of the Mediterranean diet known throughout the world for its health benefits and recently elevated to World Heritage status (UNESCO 2010); Man emerges from barbarism and enters civilization in the Mediterranean when begins to cultivate vines and olive trees (Thucydides); Vines and Olives fix CO2 much better than forest plants and contribute to the environmental protection of our planet; Wine and olive oil with their flavours, smells and colors are components of the quality of life.