After the great success of the first edition in 2023, this year's 'Terre d'Uva' event put Canicattì and its PGI grapes at the center of Sicilian fruit-growing for two days.
The production of PGI grapes
Promoting a product means making it truly known. And that is why a press tour was organised in the vineyards, led by consortium president Marsello Lo Sardo, his deputy Giovanni Giglia and the president of the Sicilian Table Grape Association, agronomist Vincenzo Di Piazza.
Left to right: the president of the Sicilian Table Grape Association, agronomist Vincenzo Di Piazza, consortium president Marsello Lo Sardo, and vice-president Giovanni Giglia. (Click here for the photo gallery)
"The one that is coming to an end has been a difficult year," explained Marsello Lo Sardo referring to the excessively hot, prolonged and dry summer period.
Press tour participants
"The lack of irrigation water affected yields, which dropped by 30, sometimes even 40%, compared to a standard year. A vineyard needs an average of 3000 cubic meters of irrigation water per hectare to guarantee an average production, to which rainwater must be added during the winter period. But this year was characterized by a lack of rainfall in the colder months, and the lower water table meant we could only irrigate half of what was needed on average. The water supply to plants was even lower in some plots, so the vineyards suffered even more."
The grape harvest
"This resulted in a production that was certainly superior from a qualitative point of view, with grapes boasting excellent organoleptic qualities," explained the president of the PGI consortium. "The pronounced Muscat flavor and Brix degree of around 22/23 are distinctive notes that, this year, have reached the maximum levels possible. Commercialization is positive with excellent quotations."
President Lo Sardo proudly shows a crate with branded grapes. (Click here for the photo gallery)
The rain of a few weeks ago, followed by a few foggy and damp dawns, unfortunately caused issues to some plots, leading in some cases to browning and thus making the grapes less suitable for the timing of logistics. To this, we must add the effects of the high sugar content, which stains the berries. All these aesthetic elements, however, do not detract from the goodness of such extraordinary grapes.
Pallet of branded grapes. (Click here for the photo gallery).
The festival
The involvement of the food sector expanded the event once again this year, turning the town into a veritable capital of taste on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October.
Above, one of the various talks that made Canicattì table grapes the star of the event
The initiative was organised not only by the Consortium for the protection and promotion of Canicatti' table grapes, but also by the restaurateur Piero La Torre, the true patron of the event, who brought the added value of dozens of chefs (some of them starred), who created dishes based on Italian PGI grapes and contributed to a series of side events with talks, tasting sessions and culinary competitions. The conference starred, among others, Federico Quaranta, a well-known face on RAI who, referring to history and mythology, recounted the added value of a territory that is often unknown to Sicilians themselves and that, moreover, coincides with the most renowned fruit and vegetable areas.
For more information:
Marsello Lo Sardo
Consorzio per la Tutela e la Promozione dell'uva da tavola di Canicatti' I.G.P.
92024 Canicatti' (AG) - Italy
+39 338 290 2558
[email protected]