Vineyards Magazine

The year 2025 closes on a highly positive note for the Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Sicilia, reaffirming the denomination’s role as a key player on both the Italian and international wine scenes. The past year was marked by an intense commitment to the promotion and enhancement of native grape varieties, alongside an ever-stronger focus on biodiversity and the rediscovery of Sicily’s historic cultivars an invaluable heritage that reflects the island’s deep-rooted identity.

“After two challenging vintages, the 2025 harvest marked a return to more balanced production levels, with around 3 million hectolitres produced across 97,000 hectares of vineyards. This result once again confirms Sicily as one of Italy’s leading wine regions and highlights its ability to successfully combine biodiversity and sustainability,” said Camillo Pugliesi, Director of the Consortium. “International markets showed mixed dynamics in 2025: the United States remained broadly stable despite a more complex trade environment, while Asian markets recorded growing interest in Sicilian wines. Against this backdrop, the Consorzio DOC Sicilia strengthened its presence through targeted promotion and communication initiatives.”

In 2025, market demand increasingly favoured white wines, with Grillo and Lucido (Catarratto) taking centre stage. This trend underscores the denomination’s ability to interpret and anticipate global consumption patterns. With approximately 29,000 hectares under vine, Lucido is the most widely planted white grape variety in Sicily. Its remarkable versatility and significant intra-varietal diversity allow it to express itself with consistency and typicity in coastal areas as well as in hilly and mountainous zones.

This versatility creates significant opportunities, ranging from vibrant, ready-to-enjoy white wines to more complex styles designed for ageing, as well as premium sparkling wine bases, an approach recently showcased through the “Vista Lucido” project. At the same time, research continued the island’s more than 70 native grape varieties. Micro-vinification trials carried out in 2025 identified at least seven to eight particularly promising biotypes, which could further enrich Sicily’s already diverse wine landscape.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Consortium will launch new communication and promotional initiatives for DOC Sicilia, with one of the key highlights taking place at Vinitaly. In addition to participating in major international wine fairs, the programme will include a series of events aimed not only at trade professionals but also at consumers. These initiatives are designed to showcase Sicily as a true wine continent, through experiences that bring together terroir, culture and winemaking style.

Today, the Consortium represents more than 7,000 winegrowers and around 500 bottlers, safeguarding a production of over 80 million bottles that reflects the richness of a viticultural mosaic spread across the entire island. This cohesive system has played a crucial role in strengthening the global reputation of Sicilian wines, positioning them as a contemporary expression of a land with a millennia-old history.