Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

Passitaly, the first exhibition for Sicilian sweet wines

Among the vineyards and the sea of the island of Pantelleria, the first edition of Passitaly will take place from 31 August to 4 September, an event entirely dedicated to the celebration of the natural passito wines of the Mediterranean.

 

Promoted by the Regional Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fisheries, by the Municipality of Pantelleria, by the Regional Institute of Wines and Oils of Sicily and by the GAL of the Minor Islands. An international event dedicated to the flavours, nature, tourism and culture of one of the most beautiful and particular islands in the Mediterranean, home of the natural Moscato Passito of Alessandria. “With Passitaly – states Lucio Monte, general director of IRVOS – we want to focus the attention of the media and the public on the extreme viticulture practiced in the smaller islands and on the niche production of passito wines. It will be a sort of widespread natural fair in which local, national and entire Mediterranean wineries will have the opportunity to make known the production of sweet wines which will be tasted and evaluated by a jury made up of prestigious names from the national and international press".

The event, in addition to giving the opportunity to taste the most prestigious productions of dessert wines in the Mediterranean, will allow you to discover the island through the "Pantelleria Experience". Three different routes linked to three different specificities of this territory: food and wine, naturalistic-landscape and historical-cultural. Between walls and terraces, tourists will be able to discover naturalistic and gastronomic itineraries of an island that can boast an extraordinary landscape heritage, millenary historical-cultural traditions, and above all a community of women and men who have built this with their own values and work. extraordinary garden in the Mediterranean.

“Passitaly – declares Salvatore Gabriele, the mayor of Pantelleria – must become a tool for valorising the island and its productive fabric, starting from agriculture but also including catering, accommodation, services, and even culture, archaeology, ancient knowledge and flavors who, on our island, have been able to generate identity, community and history. Through the promotion of natural passito, we set ourselves the objective of enhancing the civilization of the vine in all its aspects, agronomic, cultural, landscape as well as socio-economic. In a context in which the architecture of the agricultural landscape expresses one of the most precious and delicate territories of the Mediterranean, we want to affirm the value of heroic viticulture based on the work of the Pantelleria farmer and on the ability to manage the environment and nature in harmony and balance . Sustainability, defense of the landscape, profitability of vineyard cultivation are the founding elements that we want to be recognized and defended by the institutions and ruling class of this country". For Salvatore Gabriele the essential point of the message is this: "During the four days of Passitaly it will also be possible to learn about the other aspects of wine tourism starting from the sapling vine, a candidate to become UNESCO intangible heritage, the products of Pantelleria gastronomy, such as the renowned capers, and the natural and landscape beauties, the sea and the splendid agricultural scenery. In essence, an event capable of uniting culture, tourism, identity and food and wine, with a broad vision that crosses local borders and will open up to the entire Mediterranean".

Passitaly 2014 will be a real journey of discovery and study of the environmental, cultural and productive aspects of a territory where human civilization has been able to best interpret a unique but at the same time difficult and, at times, hostile context. Terraces, dry stone walls and Dammusi are concrete and tangible proof of a thousand-year-old agricultural tradition that has always been founded on the balance between man and nature.

The rich and intense program of the event will be divided into tastings and aperitifs that will accompany awards ceremonies, talk shows with the producers, evenings of music and cultural initiatives. Every day, from 6pm to 8pm, in the large courtyard of the Barbacane Castle of Pantelleria, it will be possible to taste the passito wines of the Italian and foreign wineries participating in the event. Finally, on Thursday 3 September, starting from 10pm, there will be a grand finale of music and dance: the entire island will be involved in a special night in which everyone, locals and tourists, will be invited to participate dressed in white.