I Vigneri

“I Vigneri” is a wine consortium, led by Salvo Foti, which brings together true Sicilian winemakers whose aim is the creation of traditional and, at the same time, excellent viticulture. The name has its origins way back in 1435, when an association of winemakers called the "Maestranza dei Vigneri" was founded in Catania. It was essentially a corporation that, after just under six centuries, has come back to life and wants to pursue the same objectives with the same rules: without upsetting the natural balance, few but strict rules must be respected between the rows. The plants, rigorously cultivated as saplings, are even over one hundred years old, being an integral part of the local biodiversity. In the cellar, it seems that time has stopped and we continue to make wine exclusively with grapes. Clearly we start from the local native vines, we are talking about Nerello Mascalese, Carricante, Nerello Cappuccio, Minnnella. The protection of biodiversity is considered a primary value, says Foti, as it is the essential condition for future work on the genetic improvement of plant and animal species. And in fact the Etna region is characterized by a high environmental and microclimatic variability, within a few tens of kilometers you encounter naturalistic and agricultural landscapes ranging from sub-tropical to mountainous. These are therefore five producers and old vineyards, scattered across Sicily: from Etna to Caltagirone and Vittoria. Each producer in the consortium maintains its own identity, but communicates its adherence to the common philosophy by bottling its wines in the I Vigneri bottle, which features the symbol of the consortium in relief, that little tree that has its roots in 1435.