Etna Doc keeps its vineyards locked down and aims to protect quality to ensure growth

A historic appellation but with an eye on the future, synonymous with dynamism as confirmed by the new projects on the horizon for what can be considered the jewel of Sicily. A region facing, in recent years, a real Renaissance of beauty driven by the wine sector and, in particular, by producers whose hand has been decisive in a fascinating but morphologically difficult territory with vineyards that, from the slopes of the Unesco heritage volcano, reach the sea.
The first appellation to be established in Sicily in 1968 and among the first in Italy, Etna Doc covers a vineyard of 1,500 hectares enclosed in 20 municipalities and 133 Contrada. Today the Consortium of the same name, which represents 90% of the total production potential, brings together 220 companies for an average annual production of 6 million bottles, of which 60% is exported, particularly to the United States, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
According to the study “If you take wine away from Italy. A dive into the half-empty glass”, carried out at Vinitaly 2024 by the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory and Prometeia, the contribution on the territory of the Sicilian Doc is worth up to 10 times more than the value of the wine (ex cellar): each bottle produced and consumed locally is capable of generating an impact (direct, indirect and induced) on the territory quantifiable in 82 euros. And while the process to obtain the Docg is underway, there is also a look at production containment to support the qualitative growth and positioning of the denomination. Therefore, the line of the Consortium for the protection of Etna Doc wines is confirmed, which, at the members’ meeting, hit the goal of cohesion by unanimously resolving to renew the strategy of quota management of the registration of new vineyards to Etna Doc. The Consortium established for the next three years (from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2027) a maximum limit of 50 annual hectares of new plantings that can be enrolled in the Do. Each company will be able to apply to the Consortium for eligibility for a maximum of one hectare per year, and if requests exceed the annual ceiling, the area authorized to individual companies will be reduced proportionally.
“The controlled increase in surface areas is a necessary condition”, commented the president of the Consorzio di tutela dei vini Etna Doc, Francesco Cambria, “for a reasoned growth of the denomination. A choice that protects the territory and, at the same time, guarantees a positioning on the markets increasingly oriented to quality. A decision was taken, with a unanimous vote, in a very well attended assembly, demonstrating the producers’ maturity even on such a divisive issue. The Consortium’s announcement aims to safeguard the interests of the entire denomination, giving producers equal growth opportunities”.