Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

IRVO at Assoenologi Sicilia: the future of regional winemaking is being shaped through sustainability, innovation, and research.

Vito Bentivegna (IRVO): "Research and sustainability are key to strengthening Sicilian vineyards and supporting the entire sector."

The training session organized by Assoenologi Sicilia and dedicated to the sustainable and innovative evolution of winemaking took place on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the Pellegrino Cellars in Marsala. The event was well attended, with technicians, producers, protection consortia, and representatives of regional wine institutions in attendance.

The program offered a comprehensive overview of the transformations underway in the wine sector, including the importance of projects focused on sustainability, vineyard resilience, and the new frontiers of genetic innovation, which are increasingly necessary today to address climate change and major vine diseases.

A key moment of the meeting was dedicated to the contribution of IRVO, which for years has played a fundamental role in research and innovation transfer for the Sicilian wine industry.

On the sidelines of the event, IRVO General Director Vito Bentivegna commented on the importance of the initiative and the role of regional research: "The meeting organized by Assoenologi in Marsala was interesting. As an institute, we brought our experience in the field of research: in particular, in recent years, we've been focusing on the sustainability and resilience of vineyards."

Subsequently, Bentivegna reiterated IRVO's commitment to investing in research, given the results achieved so far: "We've achieved several positive results, so much so that we're looking to the future, expanding on what we've achieved and furthering genetic innovation, with the goal of maintaining the grape varieties' organoleptic characteristics while strengthening their resistance to disease. Research has always played a central role in IRVO's efforts to support the Sicilian wine industry, and we aim to strengthen it with new efforts, resources, and collaborations."

The meeting confirmed the need for increasingly close collaboration between research institutions, consortia, producers, and institutions to address the challenges facing Sicilian viticulture with appropriate tools.

Thanks to the quality of the presentations, the event represented a valuable opportunity for professional development and thus established itself as a significant opportunity for discussion and planning, where IRVO's contribution reaffirmed the strategic role of research in building a sustainable and competitive future for Sicilian wine.