Sicily en Primeur 2026
Sicilia en Primeur, international preview of the latest vintage, returns to Palermo May 11-15
Sicily en Primeur
Sicilia en Primeur is the most important event conceived and organized by “Assovini Sicilia”
Born in 2003 as an international preview of the latest vintage, aimed at the Italian and foreign press. The event aims to introduce the countless facets of Sicilian wine, through tastings and meetings with producers. But at the same time it presents the places and culture that make up the Sicilian wine tradition, through enotours in different areas of the island.
The winning format of Sicilia en Primeur includes enotours aimed at the press and visits to participating wineries and production territories. These tours include technical tastings, masterclasses, talks on topical issues and a conference dedicated to meeting producers and tastings at winery stations.
Choosing from 12 different itineraries, press professionals travel to discover the wineries and the territory. In this way, wine becomes an exclusive key to understanding the extraordinary variety and biodiversity of the island and its historical and cultural heritage, along with the history of the producers and wineries.
A kermis that over the years has established itself as a tool to enhance the Sicily brand in the world. The last edition in 2025 involved more than one hundred journalists from all over and fifty-seven member companies.
The 2026 edition
Sicilia en Primeur will be held May 11-15, 2026 in Palermo.
The event is open by invitation for industry professionals.
More details on the official website www.assovinisicilia.it.
Wine tourism as a strategic lever in Sicily
In an international market scenario fraught with uncertainty and complexity, there is one asset that is increasingly becoming strategically important to wineries’ business and has grown significantly in recent years:wine tourism.
>If we look at tourist arrivals in Italy’s main wine-producing areas (from Valdobbiadene to Valpolicella, from Langhe to Franciacorta, from Collio to Chianti) in the last five years there have been much higher growths – in terms of percentage changes – than the average for the respective region (net of the capitals/art cities). In the case of Sicily, taking, for example, the municipalities of Mount Etna, between 2019 and 2024 tourist arrivals grew by 17.4 percent against an average for the entire island of 12.4 percent.
“Assovini Sicilia is betting on wine tourism. Not only as a strategy but as an asset of wineries that are responding dynamically to the new challenges of the wine world.” Thus commented Mariangela Cambria, president of Assovini Sicilia, continuing, “Wine tourism allows us to tell the story of wine as a cultural product and part of a wider context. Landscape, stories, producers and gastronomy coexist. Wine Sicily that today confirms itself as an island capable of intercepting changes and anticipating strategies.”
Wine tourism in Sicily has a much more international character than the average in other Italian wine territories: according to Sicilian producers, the identikit of the wine tourist who arrives in Sicily is predominantly foreign – particularly from the United States, Germany and England – has an average age between 40 and 55 years and is not necessarily a wine expert, which is not a critical issue rather an opportunity to fill a knowledge gap and increase the wine culture of people who, after the wine tourism experience, can become ambassadors of the company brand and Sicilian wine territories.
Looking to the future, according to the same companies in the coming years, wine tourists will mainly go in search of personalized experiences and exclusive offers, immersive and multisensory experiences but also integrated with cultural activities.