Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

2018 harvest in Sicily between decline in production and good quality

Article By Eros Bonomo  published on AlqamaH on 03/09/2018

Decline dIn wine production, the alarm starts from Western Sicily, the situation is different in Eastern Sicily, even if we have to wait for the end of the harvest for certain data, because in some parts it has not yet started. 

A drop in production on average of 20% and higher data could be envisaged, the 30%, but one aspect is positive, that of quality, That Anyway remains medium-high. Average production decreasing by 20% and which now - with the harvest underway - stands at 30%. The climatic conditions were to blame, especially the water bombs that hit Sicily, which resulted in the proliferation of molds, such as pernospera and powdery mildew. To be affected the most is the organic sector, characterized by limited interventions in the vineyard, without the use of harmful products to combat epidemics of these moulds. Crop losses with peaks of 70%, as occurred in the Partinico area. Numbers that are pushing some growers not to harvest the bunches because it is not convenient.

Statements from are recorded on the issue Antonio Cossentino, president of the CIA Western Sicily Palermo/Trapani he was born in director of the IRVO (Regional Wine and Oil Institute) of Sicily, Vincenzo Cusumano.

The first expressed his opinion in a statement, while the second was reached by us for an interview.

“The main culprit for this semi-disaster is the climate,” he explains Antonino Cossentino. The heavy rains that have fallen in recent weeks have strongly affected an already precarious situation. In Sicily, according to data from the Regional Water Observatory, the rainfall in the month of August recorded in the long term (30 years) stands at 15 millimeters of average accumulation, in 2017 it was just 1.1 mm while in 2016 it was reached an average of 25 mm. This year, however, some areas have been repeatedly hit by real water bombs with accumulations of up to 100 mm. “Conditions which evidently made it impossible to complete standard production. This is why we ask that the state of natural disaster be recognized for those producers who have been affected by these climatic events. Those who are on an organic regime, among other things, pay a doubly bitter price given that Agea payments for European funds are still stuck in 2015 for many", says Cossentino again.

Too much rain, therefore, and soaked vineyards causing the grapes to literally burst and rot. Among the vines that have suffered most from all this is Nero d'Avola. In the Palermo area, in areas such as Roccamena and Contessa Entellina, the average crop loss involving all the varieties was 30%. Same figures in the areas of Trapani such as Salaparuta and Gibellina and in Belice in general, where some vineyards were even submerged by flooded waterways. Things went better in the Petrosino, Marsala and Mazara areas, where the damage was limited to 10-15 percent. In the Agrigento area, the estimates from early August were confirmed: the drop compared to the average is between 20 and 30 percent depending on the area and there are no major problems on the quality front. The producers now hope that this final part of the summer will provide a milder climate for the last vineyards to be harvested.

Vincenzo Cusumano in the interview he talks about the situation of all of Sicily, but also uses words of hope and positive concrete data on some aspects of the Sicilian wine sector, “An oenological renaissance that continues”, this is a statement from the director of IRVO, but let's see the interview for the other details: