by Annalisa Nicastro
The Regaleali estate is that unique place immersed in wonder from which the history of the Tasca d’Almerita, one of the best Italian wine excellences. It is located halfway between two Parchi Letterari, on the right it borders with Le Madonie and Aliminusa where the park dedicated to Giuseppe Giovanni Battaglia is located and on the left it approaches Polizzi Generosa with the Giuseppe Antonio Borgese park. A territory rich in culture, history and also territorial variety. Together with Francesca Borghese, Tasca d’Almerita’s cultural event manager, we discover the philosophy of her family that between tradition and future pursues an approach that takes care of the landscape, in all its aspects and along the entire supply chain.
Their method takes into account the impacts that the production of a bottle has on the environment, with a very high attention both to nature as a heritage to be protected through sustainable actions and in support of local culture because Tasca d'Almerita recognizes the value of culture for the growth of the territory and for the development of its identity.
Behind every bottle produced there is a whole story made of tradition and innovation. What are the principles and philosophy that have always guided the Tasca d'Almerita family?
Behind each of our bottles of wine there is the story of a family that for eight generations has dedicated its life to indulging the knowledge and will of Nature: a love born in 1830, with the purchase of the Regaleali estate, from Arabic " Rahl Alì ”, the farmhouse of Alì, 1,200 hectares in the countryside of Sclafani Bagni, in the center of Sicily. Regaleali is the family home, a farm, an open-air viticulture laboratory in which we experiment with agronomic and oenological techniques that allow us to create quality wines and to practice sustainable viticulture. This is where dreams have come true. From that of Count Giuseppe Tasca, who at the end of the 1960s created a reserve of Rosso Regaleali, the first wine from a unique vineyard in Sicily (Rosso del Conte), to the vision of Lucio Tasca who experimented with the first international varieties, tracing a path then followed by many. To celebrate fifty years of marriage to his wife Franca, in 1984 Count Giuseppe created the Nozze d'Oro, a blend of Inzolia and Sauvignon, with an amazing longevity. Today, 190 years later, that story is in the hands of my husband Alberto who - relying on the value of people - leads a passionate team effort, betting everything on sustainability and the great qualitative potential of Sicilian wines.
Since 2001 Alberto, the eighth generation of the family, has embarked on a path to enhance the areas particularly suited to viticulture. In all our wine bottles we try to enclose our personal vision of the world, especially in terms of responsibility. Because our agriculture has always been based on sustainability principles. What does this mean? We use all the techniques and knowledge available to avoid damaging the soil, plants, the environment and the next generations. For this reason, we choose not to use any chemical agent or shortcut that could be harmful, giving preference to manual work, integrated defense methods and preventive agronomic techniques. In this, for generations, we have been supported by an "army" of men and women, proud of their work, ready to do anything to support Nature and never compromise the future. For us, artisan and family wine producers, it is very important to be careful and precise in the agronomic choices that determine the health of the area in which we live and work. Just as it is necessary to measure the impact of every action we take. The goal is not to produce sustainable wines, but to produce good and elegant wines in a sustainable way.
Sicily is a region that has an enormous wealth of variety, what is the peculiarity that distinguishes the Regaleali estate and its land?Regaleali is an estate of almost 600 hectares, with 12 types of different soils, 6 hills between 400 and 900 meters above sea level, 68 hectares of natural areas where 44 protected species at risk of extinction live, many crops other than vines, like olives, wheat, almond. Regaleali should be understood as an island in its own right, a Monopole to be studied and known precisely. All the wines come from a single vineyard or from several vineyards, always within the same Estate, with different characteristics in terms of training system or pruning technique. The Regaleali Estate is a fully Sicilian place, which as a whole does not resemble any other place in the world. Above all, it does not resemble any other vineyard in the world: Nordic characters in the south, such as the sensitive temperature variations between day and night; southern characters in an almost mountainous context, such as the quality of the light, blinding but clear, never opalescent. Each grape variety finds a unique habitat, each harvest offers only one opportunity to the estate's agronomist and oenologist. The characteristics of the typical grapes of this area - Catarratto, Grillo, Perricone, Nero d'Avola - are enhanced and shaped in directions unknown to the rest of the region; those of the international varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay from the San Francesco vineyard - take on original aromatic and gustatory nuances.
Over the years to the mother estate other ones have been integrated, and that enhanced the native varieties, making everyone aware of an ever-different Sicily. How are the characters of the island's classic grapes and those of international varieties used by you? And what results have you achieved?
Yes, five estates, each with different peculiarities and a strong personality, symbolic places of indigenous varieties identifying the territories. In addition to Regaleali, a place of constant experimentation and research, we are in Salina and Vulcano, in the Aeolian Islands, with the Capofaro Estate, where the story goes through the Malvasia delle Lipari, a variety with which we give life to recognizable wines, born from a territory with precise characteristics (volcanic soil and interaction with the sea). On Etna, with the Tenuta Tascante project, after years of research, tastings and various attempts to vinify local varieties, today we vinify Contrada for Contrada obtaining four original Nerello Mascalese expressions that tell the story of the volcano's eruptions through wine. In Mozia we continue the collaboration with the Fondazione Whitaker; here we take care of 12 hectares of Grillo vineyard, reviving the “Wine of the Phoenicians.” In the Tenuta Sallier de La Tour, in the DOC Monreale, we have bet on Syrah, a variety that we have studied in all its agronomic and productive aspects. The basic idea, to use a so-called "international" grape, seems to go against the tide compared to the search for the indigenous roots of our very rich island. However, we are increasingly convinced that some suitable vines, such as Syrah in this case, know how to translate at best the "language" of a given territory.
You were the only company in Sicily to have received the coveted recognition of the European Winery of the Year Wine Enthusiast Award, 2019. The motivation is because you spread the message of sustainability. What is sustainability for Tasca d'Almerita?Sustainability for us is measurement and sharing. When 10 years ago we joined SOStain, a sustainability program for Sicilian viticulture, we did so with the conviction of starting a path of acquiring awareness, because we wanted to know exactly what effect every action we take in the vineyard, in the cellar and in the general throughout the organization. In this sense, SOStain offers us the opportunity to constantly measure, through rigorous scientific indicators, our level of sustainability to preserve the exciting territory that has been loaned to us and to continuously improve. But the measurement is aimed at sharing. Sharing etymologically means "possessing together", which we interpret as "keeping together". We start from the principle that "the land does not belong to the owner, but to those who cultivate it"; we only have the duty to tell its universal history, to guard it and to preserve it, for future generations from which we have borrowed it.
Every year for transparency and clarity you publish your company's sustainability report. What important data is there in your last report?
Over 400 tons of CO2 less released into the atmosphere in the last two years, equal to the emissions absorbed by about 2000 orange trees over 10 years; more than 500,000 kWh of photovoltaic energy produced, which is to say saving the equivalent of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by a plane traveling 829 times on the Rome-London route; the milestone of 1,600,000 bottles lightened from 2011 to today (+ 31.2% compared to 2018) with a consequent reduction not only of emissions, but also of the raw materials - diesel, sand, soda, limestone - necessary to manufacture a bottle of glass. And again, 54 more jobs created in the last 4 years, 55,000 euros destined, in 2019 alone, to projects for the development of the Sicily territory (among these, to name a few, Malvasia Day, Cogito, Palermo - Montecarlo etc.).
This sustainability you pursue also can be experienced through the discovery the territory. For example, trekking in the Regaleali Estate comes to mind. What path does it have?
In order to promote the area and allow the visitor to discover it in total autonomy, since 2015 we have activated a network of 20 km of trekking routes in Tenuta Regaleali that can also be practiced by bicycle and running. The network is divided into 3 different paths, suitable for everyone: the San Lucio path, the San Francesco path and the Grandi Vigne path, all included in a map and well marked by special signs made of chestnut wood.
Tasca d'Almerita also supports local culture with multiple projects because it is aware of the intrinsic value of a territory and the resources that make it up. Can you tell us more about these initiatives starting from Cogito?
Starting from the assumption that culture and cultivation have the same root, we always try to enhance the territory by also offering our support to local culture and putting Sicily at the center, in its uniqueness and diversity. In particular, to enhance everything that "lives" around the production system, such as the environment, landscape, culture and traditions of the community, we have created "Cogito, un aperitivo per la mente", a series of meetings aimed at discussion collective of controversial topics of general interest. Cogito looks at our reality in positive terms for continuous improvement, to analyze cultural phenomena, to create spaces of cohesion and social interaction, to create opportunities for exchange. To have fun. Cogito is a "social defibrillator" based on optimism, on the enhancement of the Common Good. The goal is to arrive at a shared critical reasoning, to "think together" within spaces of comparison and growth. This is why we think together: in convivial spaces, in conversation with writers, journalists, intellectuals, artists, scientists, professionals of the creative world, through audiovisual projections, theatrical performances, exhibitions and tastings. Cogito involves schools, universities, associations. Dubium sapientiae initium: it is only with doubt that knowledge begins. Cogito reflects and makes us reflect: future, Italianness, environment, technology and artificial intelligence, but also plant intelligence, education, the universe, are just some of the themes. To date, 13 events and 5100 guests have been held.
Annalisa Nicastro
She is ParkTime Magazine's editor in chief. She founded the online music magazine SOund36 which has been running for 13 years.
She speaks German, English, French and Dutch, after graduating in Foreign Languages and Literature at the Sapienza University of Rome, she began traveling and arrived in Berlin as a correspondent for ANSA. She has written in numerous publications including Alitalia's Ulysses and Leggere:Tutti, of which she was in the past editor in chief. She believes, always and again, in the value of people, of the word and that a piece of paper can create a (new) World.