WINE AND RESTART, THE CONSORTIUM FOR THE PROTECTION OF SICILIAN DOC WINES INCREASES BY 6% THE BOTTLED IN 2021 PROMOTION INITIATIVES IN CHINA, USA AND ITALY

A rich calendar of activities in Italy and abroad was put in place between June and August by the Consortium for the Protection of Vini Doc Sicilia to accompany the restart linked to the wine sector. Initiatives have been organized in China and the USA - among the main export markets for the island's wines - and in Italy. The strategic plan drawn up by the board of directors of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Doc Sicilia has already achieved important results: in the first five months of 2021 the bottled wine had an increase of 6% compared to the same period of 2020 . There were 41 million 138 thousand 908 bottles produced by the Sicilian Doc companies against 38 million 778 thousand 711 in the January-May period of last year.

"A result that confirms the validity of the strategy decided by the Board of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Doc Sicilia which involves a supply chain of about 8,000 companies" comments the president Antonio Rallo .

Italy . In Verona, Sunday 20 June, in partnership with Vinitaly International, a Walk around tasting will be held at the Gallerie Mercatali - in front of the PalaExpo - of VeronaFiere. Doc Sicilia wines will be present during a tasting reserved for 80 buyers selected by Ice and from different countries of Europe, the USA and Asia. On Tuesday 22nd, again at VeronaFiere, a Masterclass dedicated to Grillo will be held with about 70 students from the Vinitaly International Academy course.

China. A series of masterclasses in partnership with Ice Beijing is planned. The first is scheduled for July 2 in Xi'an (capital of the Shaanxi Region, located in Central North China, about 2 hours by plane from Beijing and 2 hours and 30 minutes from Shanghai, the easternmost point of the ancient route of the Silk Road). At the Renaissance Xi'an Hotel the tastings will be held by Chinese experts, passionate and profound connoisseurs of Doc Sicilia wines.

Other masterclasses under development will be held in the cities of Beijing, Qingdao, Chongqing and Tianjin.
From 12 to 14 August, two more masterclasses are scheduled during the Wine to Asia exhibition in Shenzhen. Thanks to the partnership with Ice Peking and Vinitaly International, the wines of the Sicilian Doc companies will be known and appreciated by sector operators such as sommeliers, restaurateurs, importers, distributors. At Wine to Asia, organized by Veronafiere-Vinitaly and Pacco Communication, 450 registered exhibitors and 10,000 buyers are expected. "Wine to Asia is one of the main events dedicated to wine in China, a complex market where consumption is also changing from province to province. Italy aspires to become one of the main exporting countries thanks to the appeal of Made in Italy" he says. the president of the Consortium, Antonio Rallo . "The identity of our wines, and the increasingly sustainable production, are our strengths. We have renewed the partnership with the Ice Beijing office to continue the training and information path on Doc Sicilia wines undertaken in previous years" . "The initiatives implemented by the Consortium aim at enhancing Sicilian productions, through messages that increasingly emphasize Sicily's ability to produce in a sustainable way, a very topical issue" explains Giuseppe Bursi, vice president of the Consortium . "In particular, initiatives on digital channels go in this direction, which will increasingly involve young people in the consumption of Sicilian wines".

"The actions decided by the board of directors are in line with the achievement of the promotion objectives that we have set for ourselves" adds Filippo Paladino, vice president of the Consortium. "Hoping that the normality of everyday life will soon return, we are also working through the digital channels of the Chinese site of the Consortium and of the wechat profile, to support the Sicily brand and our companies to create new development opportunities".

USA. The Consorzio di Tutela Vini Doc Sicilia continues to pay great attention to the United States, the main Italian wine market with its 1.6 billion euros of imports. In the US, new communication and promotional campaigns have been launched. A leading agency, consultant of the Consortium for years, Current Global, mainly deals with relationships with media, social media, influencers and strategic partnerships. It was joined by the Colangelo & Partners agency that deals with relations with specialized media and the trade, press trips and virtual events for the wine trade. A webinar aimed at industry media on the theme of sustainability and diversity of Doc Sicilia wines is scheduled for June 30, which will be moderated by Jeff Porter, a long-time sommelier who has worked in some of the best Italian restaurants in the United States.