Present

Future

end

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From 1997 to 2003, The Sicilian vine-growing and wine-

production division has ranged between 9% and 12%, of the

regional agriculture. In the province of Trapani it is concentrated about 50% of the

regional cultivated area, followed by Agrigento with18% and

Palermo with 13%.White berry grapes are still

predominant, representing the 77% of the total, against the 22%

of black berry grapes.

Sicily is the Italian region with the highest

viticultural property, 17% of the national product,

followed by Puglia 13% and Venetian 11%. In Sicily

vineyards are mostly on hills (about 65%), 30% in plains and for 5% in the

mountain.

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There is a tendency,suggested by 50% of the restaurants surveyed, to decrease or rationalize the wine list of each restaurant in order to make the choice easier.In fact in the last few years many wines in the long list were not considered by customers.

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One of Europe's oldest viticultural regions still offers some pleasant surprises. Sicily's oenological history is an ancient one, dating from the time when the island was part of Magna Graecia.

One usually associates fine wines with eastern Sicily and the areas near Mount Etna, but many new wineries have sprung up

across the island. Sicilian oeniculture is not just varietals. Sicily's vintage wines are a magical creation, and many of the island's traditional wines and spirits are famous far beyond its

shores.

Sicily's most famous wine are:

Marsala

Primitivo

Liqueurs & Grappa

Zibibbo

Moscato & Passito

Malvasia

Nero D’Avola

Varietal Wines

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Marsala, was first made in the city of that name on the western coast by the Woodhouse firm, which also sold Port. It is usually made from native Grillo, Catarratto, or Inzolia

grapes. John Woodhouse established his winery at Marsala in 1796. Benjamin Ingham founded a competing firm in 1812, followed by Vincenzo Florio, a Calabrian, in 1832. Larger

vintners such as these have always dominated the Marsala wine trade, though smaller firms have entered the field in

recent years. By the 1950s, however, it found itself relegated to the kitchen as cooking wine, and competition came from unorthodox quarters, with the introduction in the United States of a watery "California Marsala.

Today's Marsala is often divided into three different standards, ambra (amber), and rubino (ruby). Some marsala makers prefer to categorise it according to

terms used for Port wine, such as tawny.

Sicilian Wines

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Sicilian Wines

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It is a very old process, and Zibibbo, though not the direct precursor of Marsala, derives from a

formula known in the Middle Ages. It is typically slightly lower in alcohol than Marsala (about fifteen percent compared to eighteen or twenty percent) and sometimes more robust. The Zibibbo grape is similar to Moscato, and

the wine known as Moscato di Pantelleria Naturale is made mostly from Zibibbo grapes.

Purists will tell you that Zibibbo is a grape variety that can be used to make anything from

table wine to grappa. However, the Zibibbo made commercially by several houses is a

strong wine similar to Marsala but fermented and then partially distilled naturally, without

the addition of spirits.

Malvasia is another white grape used to make a strong

varietal that is golden to amber in color and slightly

fortified. Bred from an older grape variety, Malvasia is

grown in northeastern Sicily (near Messina) and on the island of Lipari, where it is

used in the making of a wine somewhat similar to Moscato.

Sicilian Wines

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Several liquors unique to Sicily are worthy of mention. Ala, made by Florio, has a distinct flavor, as does Averna, which is made in Caltanissetta. Fichera, a

newcomer, is made near Mount Etna. Several Sicilian liqueurs are similar to those produced on the mainland, namely limoncello, from lemons, anisette and amaretto.

Sicilian Wines

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There are others, such as the interesting liqueur made from prickly pears (cactus

fruits) and Cynar (from artichokes). Grappa is actually a brandy distilled from grape seeds

and pomace. Dry and high in alcohol, it is usually white and served as an after dinner

drink. In Italy, grappa is often sold in artistically original clear glass bottles.

Moscato is difficult to describe. It comes from the Muscat grape, of course, or from the sub-variety known locally as Moscatello, sometimes with the

addition of Corinto or Zibibbo. Some fine whites can be made from Muscat, but in Sicily and the nearby islands it is usually rendered as a golden or light amber dessert wine, sometimes fortified or even

sparkling. A few localities are famous for Moscato.

Sicilian Wines

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Moscato and Moscato Passito are made by some distinguished wineries on the islands

of Pantelleria and Lipari. As its name implies, Moscato Passito contains

Appassito grapes. The areas around Siracusa and Noto, in the eastern part of Sicily, also produce fine Moscato wines.

This hearty red is Sicily's most popular non-fortified varietal, now produced by numerous

Sicilian wineries. Often compared to Syrah. A full-bodied red like this one is not easily overlooked,

and dozens of wineries have introduced this varietal to cash in on a profitable trend.

Sicilian Wines

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To avoid an overpowering taste, the flavor of this wine is best when the grapes are placed in cooled vats at

harvest preferably at night to prevent conditions which can lead to

premature fermentation.

The Primitivo grape is rarely used by itself anymore. Some fascinating

genetic research in California indicates that the grape Americans call Zinfandel is actually Primitivo, a Sicilian variety that may have been introduced by the Albanians who

settled certain Sicilian communities in the sixteenth century. It was probably taken to California in the eighteenth century by Spanish colonists or later

by Sicilian immigrants.

Sicilian Wines

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The Italian market of the wine covers in average the 21% of the production of the world. it represents the leader of

the "made in Italy ". Italy contends him with France the productive record to world level and is one of the

countries with the greatest consumptions.

Last five years the enterprises of sector it is required to a continuous

adjustment to the mutable changes coming from the inside and international

market.In 88 and 92 years the incentives, to

level of the European union, have have always brought to a reduction of the always brought to a reduction of the

produced quantity and an always great produced quantity and an always great raising of the qualityraising of the quality..

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Italian wine has conquered the foreign markets, but in the home market the

production prices suffer a strong decrease (-20%). In 2005, in fact, the exports have grown of 10,2% in volume and of over 5%

in value.

It is really the heavy decrease of the prices recorded in 2005, together with an evident quality that has allowed our wine

to recover, and conquer world. Among the greatest estimators of the Italian wine are Germany and United

States. end

Market of the wine

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The territory is mostly hilly, though there are some higher mountains along the Northern coast and the highest and major active volcano in Europe,

Mount Etna (3323 m), and just below it is the fertile, large Plain of Catania. Sicily is surrounded by many smaller islands, such as Ustica, the Eolie (or

Lipari) group, comprising two more active volcanoes, Stromboli and Vulcano, then the Egadi group, Pantelleria and Pelagi. Sicily is a great producer of citrus fruit, almonds, vegetables, wine and oil, as well as a the first

fishing region in Italy. Also the mineral resources are remarkable: sulfur, salt, natural gas, petroleum. Tourism is a great resource,

thanks to the magnificent coastal areas and beaches, the abundance of archeological sites and the art centers,

where relics of the Greek, Norman and Saracen civilization are among the richest in Europe, and

immersed in a Mediterranean landscape of colors and perfumes that always attracted visitors and poets, like the immortal Goethe who wrote of Sicily "Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen bluhm...". Since important city

there’s Trapani.

The geographical position of the island in the center of the Mediterranean made it a crossword

of cultures and peoples, as well as a strategic theater of conflict for political powers. Sicila is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea,

and the richest in history and art.

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Its name derives from an ancient word for "hook," for the shape of its harbor. To the Sicanians it was Drepano, to the Greeks Drepanon, to the Romans Drepanum. Trapani was

founded in antiquity on Sicily's western coast by the Sicanians. The waters off the coast witnessed an epic sea

battle between Carthaginians and conquering Romans in 241 BC, considered a turning point in Rome's conquest of the

central Mediterranean.

Important is the Annunciation Sanctuary, in Via Conte Pepoli, was built in the fourteenth century in the Romanesque Gothic style and still retains some

splendid medieval elements such as the facade's portal and rose window, though the church's interior has been

extensively modified.The adjacent Pepoli Regional Museum is renowned for its medieval and modern collections, including articles

from the Bourbon era, though it also houses some ancient finds.

Trapani is an unusual Sicilian city for its westward position, which affords spectacular views of some of the Mediterranean's most

beautiful sunsets. The surrounding coastal plain is distinguished for its rich salt deposits, and the white mineral is ground by the windmills

seen along the coast.

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The three islands that form a mini-archipelago off Trapani are called Favignana,

Levanzo and Marettimo; they count some 4,600 inhabitants. All three are blessed with

lovely coastlines immersed in glorious crystal-clear water. The islands which are

known to have been inhabited since prehistoric times (indeed, it is thought that Levanzo and Favignana formed part of the

main island of Sicily in the Palaeolithic times), witnessed a very important event in

Antiquity:for it was in these waters that the treaty sealing an end to the First Punic War (241 BC) was signed,

whereby Carthage assigned Sicily to the Roman Empire.

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Sicily

The island is often referred to as La Farfalla on account of its shape which has been likened to a

butterfly a-flutter over the blue sea.

In more recent times, the fortunes of the island have been inextricably linked with the Florio family after they invested in a tuna fishery here, down by the harbour, where a prominent tower still marks the skyline. In times past, tuna fishing, and the

mattanza comprised the principal means of earning a livelihood on the island.

The eastern part of the island, on the other hand, is flatter and harbours the island’s

main town. The jagged coastline is interrupted, here and there, with short

stretches of sandy beach. There are two main beaches: a small sandy bay south of the town in Cala Azzurra, and, still in the southern part but a little west of

this, lies the broad beach called the Lido Burrone. The rocky bays are more exciting

and thrilling, notably Cala Rossa and Cala del Bue Marino nearby.

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Egadi islandsEgadi islands

Levanzo il the northest isle of the Egadi's archipelago. Levanzo has a decise hilly aspect: the highest hill, named Pizzo Monaco, is two-hundred and seventy-eight meters above the sea level high. The history and the developing of the human presence in Levanzo is quite singular. This is testifyed by the graffiti and the paintings that can be seen into the

Justa very few people where living in Levanzo at any time, due to the proximity of Sicily and the limitated water and land resources.

Even the actual village dates back just to 1850: before that time people simply lived

in the numerous coves of the isle. All of this allowed Levanzo to maintain an

untouched nature with more than four-hundreds species of plants some of whose

are unique of Levanzo.

"Cove of the Genuan", dating back to the Pleistocene and the Neolithic age.

Egadi islandsEgadi islandsenendd

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Martettimo, the ancient Hiera, with the village rising on the only tiny plain of the isle with the two little harbours used by the local fishermen, is for sure one of beautifulst, uncontaminated and interesting islands of Italy. Marettimo is characterized by an extraordinary vegetation, by a cristalline sea and by a wide population of wild animals like red deers, mufloni and wild boars. Marettimo in summer offers large possibilities

to the lovers of the sea and the incontaminata nature, whose quiet is assured by the fact that in all the island there are no cars and a very few asphalted roads. The Cove of the Camel, the cliff of the castle of Troy Cape, the Cove of the Thunder, the White Cove,

the Perciata Cove and that one of the Presepio, Libeccio Cape, Bassana Cape and much more tiny beaches and coves make Marettimo a unique isle in its kind among the islands of the Mediterranean Sea.

the Perciata Cove and that one of the

Egadi islandsEgadi islandsenendd

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Mazziotta MicheleAdamo Dario