Sicilian grapes with very high brix value

The Sicilian Superpippo Fruit specializes in growing and marketing grapes. The owner Giuseppe Caggia, whose company is located in Licodia Eubea, in the heart of the Mazzarone grape area, gave us his  first impression of the month of September.

Giuseppe Caggia in his vineyard

"The intense heat, with temperatures of over 46°C in early August, caused problems for many growers. Fortunately, this was not the case for everyone. Thus, we were able to compensate for the extreme heat through careful agronomic management that produced exceptional results, even during the hottest days of July and August."

Italia grapes

"We started the second phase of our season with the medium-late grapes more than 20 days ago. The queen of our crops is obviously the Italia grape variety."

"We currently ship four containers a week around the world. The most prestigious destinations are the Middle East and, in particular, the Arab Emirates. We have consolidated our relations there, with a predominance of red grapes in the shipments. Europe certainly remains our historical market. And while France prefers a riper grape, Italy demands amber-colored grapes, while Poland and Germany prefer a fairly green grape. This last term should not be misleading, because after all, we only and exclusively harvest when our grapes are ripe." 

"The ripest bunches, both for the French and Italian markets, have a Brix value of at least 18, but on the refractometer, we still record 20 degrees Brix. This is possible thanks to the great heat this year, which on the one hand has required sacrifices in terms of water management, with large expenses for irrigation, but on the other hand has given us very sweet grapes. The relationship between supply and demand is quite balanced and prices are in line with those of last year, with a slight upward trend due to higher raw material prices."

The company has an average annual production capacity of 600 tons, for early varieties, and 4,500 tons for late varieties. Superpippo Fruit relies on trusted suppliers in the main specialized Sicilian areas, including the company Le 2 P di Francesco Provenzani, headquartered in Palma di Montechiaro, in the province of Agrigento.