“Wine is a Contemporary Story”, a “cultural manifesto” to describe wine in new terms

Taking up the concept of contemporaneity developed by Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, according to whom “the contemporary is the untimely”, wine has been able to reinvent and reinterpret itself, remaining ever current and contemporary. So much so that, as many argue, wine has never been as good as it is today, winegrowers have never been so attentive to the environment, with scientific efforts to make viticulture an agriculture in balance with nature, the wine-growing landscape has never been so well cared for, the vineyards have never been so harmonious and sustainable, and the cellars have never been so beautiful, well-kept, and elegant. On the other side of the glass, wine lovers have never been so informed. Perhaps, faced with declining consumption on the one hand and the need to demonstrate that its consumption is different from that of other alcoholic beverages on the other, it is not wine itself that is being questioned, but the way in which it is described. This is why today, “Wine is a Contemporary Story” was born, a cultural manifesto that starts as a statement and becomes a program, an approach to work, and a worldview to describe wine with new words, starting from Sicily, where Planeta, one of the wineries behind the “renaissance” of Sicilian wine, has brought together opinion leaders from various sectors of Made in Italy, from academia to culture, from wine to cuisine, from journalism to communication (including WineNews), at Cantina Buonivini in Noto to contribute to its drafting.
“It’s as if the world of wine today is being questioned, under attack from many points of view, primarily the decline in consumption, with a narrative that was previously entirely positive and now seems more critical and negative to me”, says Alessio Planeta, CEO and technical manager of Aziende Agricole Planeta, and ideologist of the Cultural Manifesto. “Yet wine has always been a symbol of conviviality, an element capable of bringing people together and enriching human relationships, promoting sharing and dialogue. In an age when its value risks being misunderstood or underestimated, it is essential to remember that wine is not just a product, but a cultural and social experience that has accompanied humanity for millennia”.
Wine is contemporary because, like art and culture, it is an expression of the times in which it lives, while maintaining a constant dialogue with the past and projecting itself into the future. The art of producing wine is also a creative act (as explained in his reflection by philosopher Nicola Perullo, professor of Aesthetics and Rector of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Slow Food), just like music, theater, or literature. Wineries become spaces for artistic expression - such as Buonivini, the backdrop for “Costellazione d’arte”, Planeta’s contemporary art project, born from an idea by Valentina Bruschi, Vito Planeta, and Ignazio Mortellaro, which blends the beauty of the Sicilian landscape with the creativity of renowned national and international artists such as Emiliano Maggi, Giuseppe Buzzotta, and Pietro Ruffo, born in the first nomadic residence among Italian vineyards, “Viaggio in Sicilia”, creating an immersive experience that celebrates the interaction between wine, art, and nature - the vineyards are transformed into settings for theater and music, and the time of winemaking is intertwined with the time of reflection. The beauty of the locations, the elegance of the cellars, and the aesthetics are essential elements of this contemporary narrative, in which wine is not just a product, but a total cultural experience.
Its narrative is also constantly being rewritten, adapting, transforming, and thus remaining ever relevant. Planeta’s research, which also forms the basis for the Cultural Manifesto, is not only viticultural and oenological, but also philosophical: what does it mean to be contemporary today? Following the reflection of philosopher Giorgio Agamben, the contemporary is someone who adheres to their own time through a shift, a critical distance that allows them to understand and redefine it. Wine shares this tension between the present and the past: it is a living matter, constantly evolving, challenging time and its definitions. We have moved from the wine of grape varieties in the 1980s, to the wine of brands in the 1990s, to the wine of territories in the 2000s, to the ideological and natural wine of 2020, to the wine of today, which seeks a balance between identity, sustainability, and innovation. Actualizing this journey means recounting it from a contemporary perspective, highlighting its aesthetic, productive, and cultural evolution.
For Planeta, 2025 will be dedicated to telling the story of wine as a contemporary narrative, through a series of events and initiatives that reaffirm its role as a bridge between past and future, a witness to time, and a protagonist of current culture. These events are linked by a single thread: the belief that wine is not just a product, but a language, an experience, and an art form in itself.