Estimation of Role of Sicilian Region on Production of Quality Wines. A Comparison between the Best Sicilian and Italian Wines by Using Influential Wine Guides

Abstract

Abstract Sicilian region (Southern Italy) has always been the larger Italian wine producer, because of their terroir (i.e. climate, soil and cultivar) and the extension of the vineyard area. For a long time, in the past, Sicilian vineyards produced only wine for blending or for bulk wine consumption. However, the quality of wine production in the Sicilian region has raised significantly over the past years, due to numerous factors, including, primarily, the development of manufacturing techniques, the major business investments of wineries, and the better legislation for protection of quality wines. These factors, combined with producers' targeted marketing strategies and actions, have greatly enhanced the competitiveness of the wine industry in Sicily. That is confirmed, also, by the increasing demand, in the international market, for wines "Made in Sicily". Sicilian wine producers' commitment for improving quality of their wines has had a positive feedback from consumers and from experts in the wine sector. In fact, during the last ten years, Sicilian wines have increased progressively the number of awards and prizes obtained nationally and internationally. Therefore the objective of this paper is to measure the quality level of Sicilian wine productions through the study of the rankings and prizes assigned by the most important domestic wine guides, i.e. Bibenda, L'Espresso, Gambero Rosso, Luca Maroni, Slow Wine and Veronelli (vintages 2014 and 2015), in order to know the role of the Sicilian region in the national and international framework of quality wines. In Italy, the high level wine guides are considered important indicators to know quality wines and best Italian cellars; therefore they may be used as an excellent assessment tool as well as mean of information and communication. By analysing rankings stated in the above guides, we compared the Sicilian wines with those of the other Italian regions that historically produce labels and wines of high quality. The results show that the Sicilian region has become a leader on the national wine market.