The first edition of the Catarratto Festival kicks off on June 6-7: Wine, Identity and Traditions.

The project promotes the rebirth of Catarratto and the true identity of the grape variety through tastings and cultural events.

Promoting Catarratto, the most distinctive and widely cultivated Sicilian grape variety, by integrating it into the local culture and traditions. This goal is behind the first edition of the Catarratto Festival, held June 6-7 in Santa Cristina Gela, in the province of Palermo, and the first festival entirely dedicated to a single grape variety.

The event, conceived and organized by ARCA (Regional Association of Authentic Catarratto) and the six founding companies ( Bagliesi, Caruso & Minini, Castellucci Miano, Di Bella, Feudo Disisa and Tenute Lombardo) , promotes a new narrative of Catarratto - of which approximately 28 thousand hectares are cultivated in Sicily today - restoring centrality and dignity to a historic and resilient grape variety, through an alliance between producers and the territory based on shared values: authenticity , sustainability , recognisability .

A two-day event dedicated not only to the grape variety and the winemaking of the various wineries, but also to the region and its culinary excellence, with a tasting open to the public featuring thirteen wineries—more than half of which belong to the Monreale DOC —and nine producers of cheese, honey, and other traditional products.

In addition to the tasting and sampling stands, a masterclass dedicated to Catarratto, led by Othmar Kiem, director of Falstaff Italia , together with the winemaker Tonino Guzzo , will highlight the grape variety and the wines produced from Catarratto, highlighting the different expressions of this variety.

The project also aims to enhance and be an integral part of the local community's Arbëreshë culture through tastings and cultural events. "The first Catarratto Festival was born as an experiment in educating, promoting, and showcasing Catarratto, the most representative and defining grape variety of our island, involving the local area and community. The goal is to integrate wine production into a broader cultural context, and to raise awareness of Catarratto and the new and more authentic stylistic expressions that enhance its characteristics, resulting in fresher, more contemporary wines with great aging potential," comments Sebastiano Di Bella, President of ARCA and producer.

ARCA is more than just a producers' association. It is an agricultural and cultural alliance uniting six Sicilian family-run wineries ( Bagliesi, Caruso & Minini, Castellucci Miano, Di Bella, Feudo Disisa, and Tenute Lombardo) , which together cultivate 80 hectares of Catarratto, with a potential production of approximately 7,000 hectoliters of wine. Although diverse in their geographical location, the ARCA wineries are deeply united in a shared vision: to restore Catarratto, a historic and defining grape variety of hilly Sicily, to the center of attention through winemaking research and a forward-thinking vision capable of delivering new and more complex interpretations.

From the Madonie mountains to the hills of Naro, from the Belice valleys to the Caltanissetta plains, ARCA is the voice of a region where Catarratto is not standardized but recognizable, diverse, and unmistakable. The Association promotes a model of artisanal, organic, and local viticulture where wineries adopt low yields, respectful techniques, and manual, non-invasive management.

The Regional Association of Authentic Catarratto wants to highlight this grape variety, which is experiencing a true renaissance thanks to the commitment of the wineries who have believed in this project and are investing in its promotion and enhancement both on our island and beyond Sicily. The Catarratto Festival is the final stop on the Catarratto Tour, a journey that has visited ten cities in Sicily and especially beyond over the past twelve months, garnering surprise and admiration everywhere for the unexpected quality of the wines.

Catarratto can produce fresh, elegant wines. Wines with great personality and surprising verticality. Our task is to create value, restoring Catarratto to the prestige it deserves,” continues Sebastiano Di Bella.

One of the island's oldest and most distinctive varietals—literary sources document its widespread presence as early as the 16th century—Catarratto has always been prized for its generous yield, its adaptability to Sicilian microclimates, and the quality of its wines. Grown almost exclusively in Sicily, Catarratto is now the most widespread variety, accounting for approximately a third (28,000 hectares) of the island's entire vineyards, although until the 1990s, it comprised approximately 90,000 hectares. While for centuries Catarratto was cultivated as an everyday wine variety, in recent years it has been experiencing a period of rediscovery and appreciation, revealing its rich potential and expression in a variety of wines: from fresh and fragrant whites, capable of capturing the essence of the Mediterranean, to still wines and sparkling wines.

"The success of Catarratto is indeed linked to its rare balance: it is a grape that resists drought and major diseases, factors that have favored its spread to almost all of the island's provinces. Its agronomic flexibility is the fundamental reason why, over time, Catarratto has become synonymous with reliability and quality. A very modern grape due to its sustainability characteristics," concludes Sebastiano Di Bella.