Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

VINITALY: SICILY IS THE LARGEST ORGANIC VINEYARD IN ITALY

Sunday 12 April at 2.30pm in “Pavilion 2” a debate on the primacy of the Island which has over 33 thousand hectares of organic crops and at 5.30pm a tribute from the master pastry chefs: with Tinto and Fede of Radio 2 the cassata will be prepared live

 

There Sicily, with 96,903 hectares and an incidence of 14% on the national territory, is the second Italian region for vineyard area, after Veneto which has 103,504 hectares and an incidence of 15%. But what makes the Island a true model for the country is its organic primacy: with 33,823 hectares of crops and an incidence of 26% on the national territory, Sicily is the Italian region with the largest organic vineyard area, is followed by Tuscany which has 23,068 hectares and an incidence of 17% (2025 data processing by the IRVO Wine and Olive Oil Observatory on AGEA and SINAB data in BIO).

These are two key data that will fuel the debate at the conference "Sicily, Italy's largest organic vineyard previews the sector's future.” organized by theDepartment of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fisheries of the Sicilian Region and from theRegional Institute of Sicilian Wine and Oil (IRVO) scheduled at Vinitaly on Sunday 12 April at 2.30 pm in Pavilion 2.

The leading national region of the green transition will be told by Luca Sammartino Councillor of the Sicilian Region for Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fisheries, Giusi Mistretta And Vito Bentivegna, respectively extraordinary commissioner and general director of IRVO, Calogero Alaimo national president of Italiabio, Elizabeth Nicolosi professor at the University of Agriculture of Catania, Salvatore Li Petri Business Development Manager at Cantine Hermes, Luca Li Vecchi President of the Verbuncaudo Social Cooperative. At the conclusion of the proceedings, moderated by IPRESS journalist Assia La Rosa, will follow a Masterclass dedicated to organic wines coming from 6 native vines guided by the Irvo winemaker Gianni Giardina and accompanied by a tasting of cheeses and cured meats prepared by theExperimental Zootechnical Institute for Sicily.

The Sicilian collective counts 164 cellars of which 28 specialized in organic production, houses the production realities of Assovini Sicily, of the Consortia Providi, Vitesi, Autonomi, Etna DOC.

This year the What's new in Pavilion 2 is the pairing of wines with Sicilian cuisine, the successful combination will be exalted in La Vucciria restaurant which will debut at Vinitaly in 2026.

Sunday 12 April at 5.30 pm the combination “food and wine” will be celebrated with tastings of dessert wines of the historic cellars of the Island and with the art of Sicilian pastry making loved throughout the world: the preparation of a live cassata during the event moderated by Tinto and Fede, Nicola Prudente and Federico Quaranta, hosts of the program Decanter on air on Rai Radio 2Visitors will be able to admire the homage of the master pastry chefs who will perform the delicate glazing phase live, then the Sicilian cassata will be enriched with Baroque-style decorations and candied fruit, from zuccata to chinotto, from oranges to mandarins. Sicilian food experience will continue in the following days with the spectacular Ricotta Cannoli Matryoshka and with the savory cassata combined with the full-bodied Sicilian red wines: it will be prepared timbale of anelletti – typical of Palermo – inspired by the Gattopardo, finished with parmesan sauce, tomato jellies, gold leaf, mini quail eggs, fine meats and cured meats, aubergines and savory custard.