Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

Oil and wine in research

A regional database of native vines is now a reality thanks to the studies on genetic traceability carried out by IRVOS and Co.Ri.Bi.A., the Research Consortium on Biological Risk in Agriculture. It was discussed during the two-day event organized in Marsala entitled "Wine and Oil: scientific research for the valorization of the territory".

A seminar, which took place on 21 and 22 November, wanted and organized by the president of Co.Ri.Bi.A., Giacomo Dugo, as well as director of the SASTAS Department of the University of Messina, in collaboration with the Regional Institute of Wines and Oils of Sicily and the support of Thermo Fisher Scientific. There was a great turnout which attracted experts and operators in the sector. Minds from the academic world and national and Sicilian research took turns and discussed technical-scientific issues to support the valorization of two of the "symbolic" products of the Sicilian territory, wine and extra virgin olive oil. Particular attention was paid to the beneficial effects that the consumption of these two foods provides. “They are part of our Mediterranean diet – said the extraordinary commissioner of IRVOS and nutritionist Giorgio Calabrese – and they too, taken in the right quantity, are the best allies for our health”.

Among the topics on the table are the need for international standardization and at the same time the promotion of local products regarding oil, varietal recognition for Sicilian wines and a study on ochratoxin in experimental grapes and in Sicilian sweet wines as well as studies on production of innovative wines through mixed fermentations. “Research – states the director of IRVOS, Lucio Monte – has always constituted an essential part of our work at the Institute, aware that greater quality comes from greater knowledge”. Representatives of the local and regional institutional world took part in the two-day event. Rosaria Barresi general manager of the Agricultural and Food Resources Department and Oreste Alagna, councilor for Productive Activities of the Municipality of Marsala: “The extraordinary sensorial and organoleptic qualities of our wines and oils are confirmed to us by the new frontiers of scientific research. – concluded Alagna – Added to these is an unparalleled heritage linked to the history of this land where they have been produced for millennia. It is therefore clear that the guarantee of quality and transparency of our products must be the critical factors on which to challenge international competition".