North America Edition
Terre d'Uva is a special event celebrating the culture and land it represents. Over 20 Italian journalists explored the world of Italian grapes grown in Canicattì during a press tour. These grapes are a Protected Geographical Indication and were showcased in a warehouse by the Consortium of Canicattì Igp Grapes.
Journalists visiting one of Canicattì Igp Grape Consortium's warehouses
After five years of producing high-quality goods, 2023 deserved to be celebrated with an event that included not only the Consortium for the Protection and Promotion of Canicattì Grapes, but also the whole city and PGI-covered regions. All profits from the festival went to charity.
The Uva Italia Igp festival drew many visitors
At the event, Italian grapes were used in a new way - not just as a snack after meals, but as a sophisticated ingredient in all courses, including aperitifs, appetizers, main courses, and desserts. Chef Pietro La Torre was responsible for this innovation and it was seen as a major promotion for Grape Italy. Journalists not only got to taste the chef's delicious food, but also received valuable gastronomy lessons focused on the esteemed Canicattì grape. Around 80 chefs attended the cooking showcase, including Italian celebrities like TV's Filippo La Mantia and Pino Cuttaia.
Above is a photo of the festival's chefs, while below are the event's organizers. To view the photo album, click here.
From left to right: Roberta Romano (organizer), Giuseppe Corsello (Canicattì Agriculture Councillor), Riccardo Martinez (Lions Club), Alfio Visalli (Chef), Pietro La Torre (chef, organizer, and main sponsor), and Vincenzo Corbo (Canicattì mayor). Marsello Lo Sardo, Vincenzo Di Piazza, Giovanni Giglia, and Paolo Li Rosi are the event organizers.
Marsello Lo Sardo, President of the Consortium, led the group of journalists on a tour of the vineyards before taking them to one of the Consortium's warehouses.
Watch the video interview with the president of the Canicattì IGP Grape Consortium, Marsello Lo Sardo.
The most recent analysis showed excellent production quality. We haven't seen that in a long time. The industry had formulated various hypotheses, including drastically decreasing the Italia variety in favor of seedless types, during the past five years since the last successful campaign. Many new types of seedless grapes, known as club varieties, have become popular on the market. These grapes have taken up a large portion of the market share.
The separation of a group of grapes from the main bunch
This year's trend shows that the high production standard of the Italia grape allows it to stand out on the market, in spite of the mainstream trends, and to find its own placement.
Italia Igp granita, served to journalists visiting a vineyard
The quality of the grape is everything. This year the grape is at 24° Brix, which means that it is releasing aromas and flavors with an infinite number of Muscat nuances that are unattainable in other varieties. The average cost is €0.70-90 cents per plant.
The president of the Consortium, Marsello Lo Sardo, spoke on the economic impact of a small berry.
Fortunately, the low prices of the previous year, which were the reason for the producers to stop the harvest, are over. However, due to their low quality, many lots still ended up going to the processing industry in 2022.
