Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

Sicily is the first Italian region for the production of organic wines, 38% of the hectares of vineyards on the island are organic

One in two buyers chooses organic wine. With 133 thousand hectares, Italy represents a quarter of the organic grape cultivations in the world. The IRVO challenge, April: «Making the choice of our territory strategic»

There Sicily it is the “train” of organic wine nationally. With about the 38% of dedicated surface area out of the total regional viticulture, the Island confirms its record. The 2023 data, taken from theNomisma Wine Monitor observatory (according to which in the last 12 months 52% of regular wine buyers in Italy preferred to opt for an organic wine) speak of an increase in 20% in the last year. A trend that even surpasses the latest official numbers, dating back to the 2021 vintage, released by the Sicilian Region during the focus "Sicilian organic wines: Italian record" at Vinitaly in Verona.

Gaetano Aprile, director of the Regional Wine and Oil Institute, described a phenomenon that sees Sicily (with over 30 thousand hectares of organic) separating Tuscany and the Marche. ≪We are the first in Italy and it is no coincidence: the department and Irvo have invested heavily in this sector, starting from the strong roots of Sicilian companies in the sector, for a strategic choice but also for the particular vocation of our product which lends itself naturally to the organic dimension."

The concept, during a tasting much appreciated by the wine lovers present, was taken up by Gianni Giardina, Irvo winemaker, which even raised the bar: ≪Even conventional Sicilian wines have parameters that fall within the community regulation on organic farming». In particular it concerns the presence of sulfur dioxide, which to boast organic recognition must be less than 100 milligrams per liter in reds and 150 milligrams in whites. And so the proposal is that ≪the regional agriculture department promotes the launch of a debate at national level to lower the limits of sulphites for organic certification". Input was collected from Dario Cartabellotta, general director of the regional Agriculture department, among the first in the public administration to believe in organic products almost a quarter of a century ago, who recalled the department's commitment to "teaming up" with businesses and professionals, also in the organic sector, with a large pay attention to those who take things seriously, favoring quality and connection with the territory". Councilor Sammartino also gave the green light to resume and relaunch the regional organic premium after almost 15 years of absence.

Lillo Alaimo Di Loro, president of Italia Bio, recalled that ≪Italy alone, with its 133 thousand hectares of organic vineyards, represents over a quarter of the organic vineyard area worldwide. But it is certainly the first ever in terms of the richness of the cultivated varietal panorama and biodiversity in the vineyard." Relaunching the need for work on organic districts in Sicily, with the hope of "a regional law that brings order and gives a boost to the sector".

To take up the gauntlet is Dino Taschetta, president of the Colomba Bianca winery, which has been a pioneer in the sector in Sicily for around 30 years and today stands (with 100 thousand quintals produced in 25% of organic vineyards) among the most important producers at European level. ≪Those in our country who don't believe in the future of organic wine want to stay in a comfort zone. Some prefer to weaken this asset because in regions other than Sicily, organic production is more difficult and less convenient for microclimatic reasons. Talking about organic is natural for me, because I successfully took up the challenge more than 30 years ago. In Sicily we benefit from optimal conditions, we could hope for much broader, if not total, organic production."