Vinimilo, the oldest oenological festival in Sicily, dedicated to the wines of Etna, takes place in Milo (U Milu in Sicilian), an Italian town of about 1000 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Catania, where the economy is mainly based on agriculture, with viticulture affecting most of the cultivated land.
Experts from all over Italy meet annually for comparative tastings, taste workshops and debates on development strategies in the wine sector.
With moments of conviviality and debates, the event celebrates the local wine and enhances the agri-food excellence of the area. Vinimilo is the perfect opportunity to discover the diversity and peculiarities of Sicilian wines and to immerse yourself in the culture and beauty of the Etna area.
To get to Milo, the Salerno – Messina ferries may be useful; once landed in the first port in Italy for the number of passengers in transit, you can proceed towards the destination by traveling the 80 km distance mainly along the A18; by train it is necessary to reach Giarre and from here take a taxi to move along the approximately 9 kilometers that remain to be covered.
Etna wine: biodiversity and tastings with Vinimilo
During Vinimilo, it will be possible to immerse yourself in the viticultural biodiversity of Etna through comparative tastings of wines from different Sicilian DOCs, champagnes and important Italian wine districts. Taste workshops will also be organized with a focus on typical regional products, such as the carricante vine, one of the identity symbols of the Etna area.
Milo: Etna’s “Permanent Quality Centre”
The mayor of Milo proudly declared that in the last five years the production of Etna Bianco Superiore DOC has doubled, going from 404 hectoliters in 2019 to 746 in 2022, and that the number of wineries in the area has increased from 3 to 23. The Milo’s goal is to become the “Permanent Quality Center” within the Etna system.
Vinimilo 2023 (43rd edition)
From 28 August to 10 September 2023, Vinimilo (edition number 43) back to Milo; it is a project of the Municipality, currently led by the mayor Alfio Cosentino, the Proloco, with the support of the Regional Department of Agriculture, led by Luca Sammartino, and the Regional Tourism Department, led by Elvira Amata.
Numerous meetings are scheduled over the course of fifteen days, such as the one dedicated to the jeweled vines of six Italian regions (Veneto, Trentino, Friuli VG, Emilio Romagna, Tuscany and Sicily/Etna), followed by the tasting of Sicilian Bracaù, a surviving vine to phylloxera at the end of the 19th century. The new study by the Ampelographic Research Group for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Viticultural Originality and Biodiversity will also be presented.
Do not miss the comparison between glasses of Champagne and Etna Bianco Superiore (EBS), an “indigenous” DOC based on carricante grapes grown exclusively in the districts of Milo, as well as the discovery of the different expressions of Nerello mascalese vinified in rosé (will be presented the best rosés produced around here).
The first edition of Grappoli Bianchi was also organized for 2023, a project dedicated to enhancing and promoting typical regional productions, with particular reference to the carricante vine, with masterclasses, tastings and comparisons between wines of various vintages and cellars.
An important aspect of the event is the promotion of wine-cycling tourism in Sicily. There will also be discussion tables promoted by the Strada del Vino e dei Sapori dell’Etna association: the first dedicated to the creation of a cycle route that crosses villages and towns in central Sicily, and the second which will see the contribution of the Strade del Vino Siciliane and of the Federation that brings together the Strade del Vino, dell’Olio and of the Sapori d’Italia.
Also on the calendar are tastings of oxidized wines from Sardinia and Sicily, insights into the affinities between Marsala and the Portuguese Porto and Madeira, and a journey through the history of the export of Etna wines between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
During the taste workshops, conferences and tastings are planned to tell the story of the first fifteen years of the Volcanic Wines association and a gourmet dinner organized by the Barone di Villagrande winery. Among the protagonists also the extra virgin olive oils of Etna and Iblei, with a comparison and a tasting organized by APO, Onav and Slow Food Catania.
One of the most awaited events is the Enoteca all’Aperto, a large tasting counter with over one hundred labels from Etna and Sicily. Here the sommeliers of the Strada del Vino e dei Sapori dell’Etna association orchestrate an unforgettable tasting for all wine lovers. It is a unique opportunity to discover and appreciate the wines of Etna, which have become international ambassadors of Sicily.
The Etna Doc Consortium will promote a mini-introductory course on wine knowledge.
Contemporary art will not be missing with “Alle Radici”, an event promoted by the Mindart association which will present the works of Alfio Bonanno, master of Land Art, inside the Barone di Villagrande, I Vigneri and Benanti cellars.
In the historic center of Milo, handmade objects will be exhibited, such as accessories, ceramics, embroidery, jewellery, handcrafted works in wood and yarns: about twenty artisans and hobbyists will populate the spaces together with the Isola del Gusto and the Enoteca all’Aperto.
Vouchers for the individual events of the wine review can be purchased at the web address vinimilo.myshopify.com.
