‘This Vinitaly 2019 is an opportunity for us to present our company’s new course. The initial phase of our growth was an enthusiastic journey lasting for more than twenty years. It consisted of expanding our operations in five different territories and denominations; Menfi, Vittoria, Noto, Etna and Capo Milazzo. Now that we have completed the first part of our journey, we hope that the second part – and this is the strong and determined message that we want to convey at Verona – will see our energies concentrated on developing an ever more extensive study and interpretation of the various terroirs where we cultivate our vines.’
Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta describe the presence of Planeta at Vinitaly 2019: ‘What it means for us is that our available resources, human as well as economic, temporal, physical and mental energies, which until now have been devoted to research and development towards new frontiers, will from today be wholly aimed at a single objective; working patiently on every detail, of the vines as well as the winery, to best produce what each of the different territories and the different varieties can offer. We wish to excel with Nero d’Avola at Noto and with Santa Cecilia at Buonivini, to be paramount with Mamertino at the Baronia of Capo Milazzo, to produce at Menfi a Chardonnay which is a point of reference such as the Didacus, and so on through the territories, with the denominations and the varieties which are part of our horizon, and to consolidate a supremacy of quality.’
The new vintages that Planeta will present at Vinitaly are witnesses to this new course; going ever deeper into the interpretation of the territories. And ‘the best is yet to come’. It is essential to measure progress in quality and for us the comparison with all operators in the sector continues. For this reason at this particular Vinitaly there will be, as well as the traditional tastings, others more detailed and dedicated to those who contribute to drawing the map – idealised and real – of Planeta’s presence in Sicily in Menfi, Vittoria, Noto, Etna and Capo Milazzo.
Every day at 11.30am the enologist Patricia Toth will present a selection of wines capable of describing what is Planeta’s Sicily today: there will be tastings of 2014 Burdese, 2016 Dorilli, 2018 Allemanda, 1614 Eruzione, 2016 Carricante and 2017 Nocera, with stories of those who have contributed to their production.
Among the great new vintages arriving at Vinitaly will also be – en primeur – the 2016 Didacus: Alessio Planeta remembers; ‘It is the third vintage of the Chardonnay that we dedicated to Diego Planeta. It is a wine which we consider to be the essence of our history. Only 7,050 bottles, daughters of the first vine that we planted in 1985 on the banks of Lake Arancio, on the Ulmo estate. Our vision of wine and of Sicily of which we had always dreamed.’
All this will take place within a completely new stand, intended to transfer to Verona a idea of the rural Sicilian countryside and of the philosophy with which Planeta, seeking architectural solutions in harmony with their territories, have always sought to maintain their beauty and their uniqueness. The stand is planned to stand around a new visual project, a long video produced by the Director Marius Mele; his unique perception will present an unpublished, luminous, completely contemporary reading of the territories of Planeta and their new course now being undertaken.
‘A new course’, explain Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta, ‘where attention to depth and detail cannot and must not be limited to the vine and to wine. We will pursue beauty on various fronts, beginning with the countryside. And we are really proud of presenting at Vinitaly an ambitious and challenging strategic agreement with such an excellent concern as the Faro family and their nurseries. We have taken on the theme of the 2019 edition of ‘Radicepura’ with great enthusiasm, the garden festival they promote each year, which perfectly reflects our mission for agriculture, ‘the Productive Garden’. While Radicepura lasts we will communicate the details of this strategic accord. The idea is the same as that which persuaded us to make a medium- and long-term investment in olive cultivation last year, planting 50 hectares of olive grove, in addition to 100 hectares already in production, in order to safeguard and enhance the natural oasis of Capparrina, in the Menfi district.’
Wine and territory, countryside and culture are those ingredients of the mission with which Planeta identifies with the Esperienza Sicilia and that, above all in recent years, has been confirmed additionally through ever more quality-driven provision in the wine-tourism and hospitality sector.
Palazzo Planeta, an apartment hotel, planned for those who wish to begin their ‘Journey in Sicily’ in Palermo. A wine resort at Menfi, La Foresteria, for immersion within nature. A restaurant, also at La Foresteria, where the traditions of Casa Planeta and the work of Chef Angelo Pumilia join together in dialogue with the seasons. Finally Ulmo, Buonivini and Sciaranuova, three estates which offer a varied collection of experiences, prepared individually for each territory and for every guest.
Finally, our cultural productions, with a calendar already prepared for 2019. On the 21st June, the summer solstice, the eighth edition of the nomadic residence for artists ‘Viaggio in Sicilia’ will conclude, represented by the artistic collective Clairefontaine. In July the fifth edition of the theatre production ‘Sciaranuova Festival’ will take place at the Teatro in Vigna on Etna, with an imposing cast list of important names, among which Emma Dante is a highlight. And in August Buonivini will take its turn with the fourth edition of ‘Santa Cecilia in musica’, also presented this year by Maestro Giovanni Bietti.
Planeta will be at Vinitaly from 7th to 10th April 2019 at Padiglione 2 Sicilia, Stand 34B/43C.
Menfi, April 2019.
