The first edition of Vinacria – Ortigia Wine Fest hit the mark in trying to propose alternative ways to update the language and rituals of the “wine world” in addressing new generations.
From December 14 to 16, in Ortigia, the beautiful little island of Syracuse, Sicily, inside the old municipal market, I participated in the first edition of this Sicilian wine festival. I was invited there because during a recent wine tour to Etna, in Taormina, I met Giada Capriotti, the young co-organizer of this festival. As soon as Giada ventilated the possibility of my participation, I reasoned to myself whether there was really a need for yet another wine festival or whether it was yet another recycled script subsidized by public money. I asked her to explain to me the purpose of this event, assessed her great enthusiasm, her preparation, and evaluated that probably participating in the first edition would be worth it, so I agreed.
Renewing the language of wine

At this point you may be wondering what so special they had in mind to tickle my interest. Let me reassure you: nothing mind-blowing, wondrous or special effects. Only the desire to place at the center of everything the inescapable need to update the language and rituals of the “wine world” to those of the new and very new generations. Said in this way, it may seem like nothing, while, in fact, it is a factor of pressing relevance and necessity. The new generations, the new drinkers, are moving away or not approaching the world of wine as we perceive it, so serious, ritualistic and with a jargon most often perceived as abstruse, distant, doctrinal. In addition, the wine world is under attack because it is an alcoholic beverage anyway and as such is harmful to health.
Attacks on the wine world and the collapse of consumption
Even our much-loved and detested Europe is fighting a no-alcohol battle that does not spare us even low blows, such as allowing drinks to be called “dealcolated wines,” that is, without any alcohol content. To me, for us old-school people, this is an absolute abomination, but the big business potentates connected to the world of soft drinks and beverages, with mighty lobbying, have won. But, rhetorical question, are we sure that their carbonated, sugary drinks, full of dyes and preservatives, are less harmful than a couple of glasses of wine?
In any case, the combination of our “old and out of step with the times” language and the various no-alcohol campaigns are causing wine consumption to plummet, especially among young people. Here, at Vinacria, they have tried repeatedly to emphasize their idea of change of approach, change of language, change of ritual.
The attempt to update the format
To do so, they chose to be innovative starting with the choice of location for the event. Choosing Syracuse, particularly Ortigia, was certainly courageous, being a city unaccustomed to being at the center of oenological meeting. Then mostly small and very small producers, with the most diverse stylistic orientations, were summoned. And you who often read me should imagine my approach and mutual enjoyment with the producer, in tasting some natural wines!
Here, to my way of seeing it, even telling the producer that we don’t like certain products, with serious mockery dialoguing with him and analyzing his wines, is a way to change the pattern and results of the narrative .
The masterclasses
Each producer had his or her own tasting booth for contacts with the public and had also given some wines for the eleven masterclasses that took place during the three days. Here, the masterclasses were a defining aspect in my appreciation for the entire event: beautifully organized, with good speakers, introducing us to new products and producers and bringing them face to face with others who were already well-known.

For example, I found the one conducted by our own Federico Latteri on “Wine is geography: the many faces of Nero d’Avola” and the one on “Perpetual and Marsala: two souls, one territory,” although I disagreed with part of the theses of the two speakers. Also very nice was the one directed precisely by Capriotti: “If I were wine… the young people of Generation Next tell their stories through the wine they identify with.” Finally, I cannot fail to mention the one splendidly conducted by Marco Reitano, head sommelier of the three-starred Roman restaurant La Pergola and a true sacred monster of international sommellerie: “The role of the Sommelier: the importance of training in the field and effective communication.”
In conclusion
In any case, at the end of the event, it is necessary to evaluate whether or not the goals that were set have been achieved. Let me preface this by saying that I know very well that innovating the language and rituals of wine is an immense, very difficult task, because they are strongly rooted in decades-old Italic and international custom. At Vinacria something has been done. Not something small: the idea started, willpower and absolute necessity were shown and demonstrated. The producers felt represented and were pleased with our dialogue and the playful seriousness with which we addressed the various issues.
Of course, we guests, as well as the organization, were also unable to give up a certain repeated ritual, but overall the choral tone of the event marked a narrative change of pace. And that is by no means a small thing.