The 2025 harvest in Italy is under way: cutting the first bunch, Cantine Ermes in Sicily

If it is no coincidence that, every year, the cutting of the first bunches of grapes, in Italy, takes place in Sicily, less coincidental, but very fascinating, are the magical corners of the Sicilian “oenological continent”, where the ritual is repeated. Like the vineyards in the Southwestern part of the island, where to kick off the 2025 grape harvest in Italy, whose wait is, therefore, over, particularly trepidatious, this year, not only because of the effects of climate change, which, by now we have become accustomed to its anticipation of a few days on the normal calendar, but also between slow market and stocks in the cellar (as analyzed by WineNews), are the winemakers of Cantine Ermes, the largest Italian cooperative winemaking reality by organic area - with over 14,394 hectares planted with vines, of which 3,118 are certified, and more than 2,700 members in six Italian regions, custodians also of the Orestiadi Estates vineyards around the “Cretto di Burri” in Gibellina, where wine is a symbol of the Belìce Valley’s rebirth from the earthquake (as we recounted in a video) - and who, today, have begun harvesting Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Viognier and sparkling wine bases. But with the harvest season, a highlight for the wine world, which, in Sicily alone, will end in October on Etna, as well as in the rest of Italy, where it will now continue, under the banner of cooperation, sustainability and beauty.
The harvest of Cantine Ermes marks, in particular, the start of a campaign that promises to be challenging, but promising, in terms of quality and management approach, according to President Rosario Di Maria, with cautiously optimistic estimates. And at a time in history when the wine sector is confronted with new environmental, commercial and regulatory challenges, the 2025 harvest is not just the beginning of a new production cycle, but the result of a collective effort, looking to the future by enhancing quality and roots.