The modification of the production rules and regulations of the Terre Siciliane IGT (Typical Geographical Indication) which, beginning with the 2017 vintage, excludes the possibility of producing and labeling wines as Grillo IGT or Nero d’Avola IGT. This provision, according to which these, grape varieties, going forward, will be able to be marketed solely as DOC (Controlled Appellation”) wines, has now become definitive.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Agricultural Policies has approved a measure which modifies the production rules and regulations of the Consorzio di tutela vini Doc Sicilia, the consortium which groups together Sicily’s wine producers. This DOC has now become the principal appellation, under the aegis of the “DOC Sicilia” name, of Grillo and Nero d’Avola wines.
In the meantime, ISTAT, the institute which collects Italy’s statistical data, has certified for the first time the data on the exportation of Sicilian wines and confirms a sales increase of approximately 10% compared to the same period of the preceding year, states Maurizio Lunetta, the director of the Consorzio di tutela vini Doc Sicilia.
“In the year 2016, 41,7 million bottles of DOC trademarked wine were produced in Sicily, 65% of which (i.e. 26.8 million) which carry the sole name DOC Sicilia – added Lunetta apropos of the modification of the Terre Siciliane IGT – This measure, which involved the island’s two most representative grape varieties, will lead to a significant increase in the number of DOC bottles. And all this will translate into a more efficacious control of the production and additional guarantees for both producers and consumers. I consider this an important step in the work of improving the quality of Grillo and Nero d’Avola wines”.
The administrative procedure of the Ministry of Agricultural Policies, which has now been completed – comments Antonio Rallo, the president of the Consorzio di tutela vini Doc Sicilia – will assist in protecting our most representative native grape varieties and give them greater prestige and visibility. We have completed an important objective: that of undertaking a series of measures to give the proper value and worth to the grapes cultivated by our growers. We have managed to trace out a shared strategy for Sicilian wine thanks to the fact that the modifications were approved by the entire chain of production: from the sector of the cooperative wineries to that of the small and large houses as well”.
Given that these new measures of the Ministry have now been approved have been approved, the Consortium has laid the foundations necessary for reinforcing its work of control and vigilance in Italy, in foreign markets, and in the channels of e-commerce, work carried out in collaborations with the official corps which work to eliminate commercial fraud. In April the Consorzio di Tutela vini Doc Sicilia and the Consorzio Prosecco Doc signed an agreement aimed at increasing the control of quality and curbing falsifications which damage wines which carry the Sicilia Doc and Prosecco Doc trademark and seal.
