From 6thto 10thMay – five days of tastings, visits to wineries and cultural tours of Sicily and its Unesco World Heritage Sites
The official presentation will take place at UniCredit’s Forum on Economies on 16thApril
Palermo, 7thFebruary 2019 – Assovini Sicilia announces the sixteenth edition of Sicilia en Primeur, returning to Syracuse ten years after it last appeared in the city.
This year, Sicily’s winemaking industry will once again take on the role of ambassador of the region, showcasing its treasures, introducing journalists from all over the world to examples of outstanding production companies and some of Sicily’s most important UNESCO heritage sites.
Almost 100 Italian and international journalists will attend Assovini Sicilia’s annual event. Before meeting at the brand new Ortea Palace in Syracuse, participants will be divided into 8 groups, each of which will explore a specific area of Sicily, visiting the wineries, stopping at the main tourist attractions, learning about the culinary traditions, consuming some of the culinary delights and focusing on the UNESCO sites found along the way.
Finally, the last two days of the event in Syracuse will consist of technical seminars, walk-around tastings and more cultural visits in the region for non-trade press.
The opening press conference in Ortigia will present a preview of wines from the most recent harvest, whilst the walk-around tasting will offer an opportunity to discover the multifaceted nature of Sicilian wine, with a tasting of more than 500 wines from participating wineries.
Technical seminars guided by Masters of Wine, consultants belonging to the most exclusive association of wine experts in the world, have been scheduled again this year. The institute, founded in London in 1953, has just 379 Masters of Wine, operating in 30 countries.
“Sicilia en Primeur is above all an important event promoting wine and its region of origin. Assovini Sicilia has once again renewed its commitment to this roving event, bringing Sicily to the forefront of attention amongst press from around the world. Wine becomes the key with which to interpret the multifaceted nature of our island. Every year, we invite trade press, but also journalists from the non-trade, tourism and lifestyle press: each one gives its readers a different account of Sicily, through its wine, monuments, food and nature… together, these aspects raise the profile of the Sicilia brand in the world. This increased value acts as a driving force, not only for our wine,” observes Alessio Planeta, Chairman of Assovini Sicilia.
Assovini Sicilia thanks UniCredit, which has been confirmed once more as the event’s main sponsor. The partnership between Assovini Sicilia and UniCredit will be reinforced during UniCredit’s Forum on Economies, which will focus on the performance of Sicilian wine producers. The presentation, open to producers and the press, will be held on 16thApril.
Salvatore Malandrino, Regional Manager for UniCredit in Sicily, said, “UniCredit is strongly committed to offering Sicilian wine producers real solutions to meet every need arising throughout the entire production chain and supporting them in their journey of development and innovation. Clearly, granting credit is important, but today it is no longer enough. Thanks to our international network, we are able to accompany wine-growing and producing companies abroad, help them strengthen their business, find business partners with which to enter new emerging markets, carry out specialised training activities and make agreements with international players for online marketing”.
Assovini Sicilia is an association of 86 small, medium and large Sicilian wine growing and producing companies with three elements in common: total control of the wine growing and wine making production chain, from the vineyard to the bottle; the production of high-quality bottled wines; an international view of the market.
Sicilia en Primeur is an annual event organised by Assovini Sicilia dedicated to the press and industry professionals. It offers an opportunity to learn more about the companies belonging to Assovini Sicilia and the island’s main artistic, archaeological and outdoor attractions.
