"The Sicilian grapes campaign started on May 13th, around one week earlier than last year. We began with the Victoria variety, obtained from vineyards in their seventh year of production. Quality exceeded all expectations this year: the color is bright, the size of the grapes is above average, bunches are homogeneous and flavor is exceptional. All this is the result of the meticulous work we carried out in the vineyards, our extensive experience and the ability to observe the actual needs of plants," explains Giuseppe Auteri, sales manager of the Sicilian cooperative Il Galletto, located in Palagonia (Catania).
Giovanni Iacono, Carolina Auteri and Manuel Bocchieri.
"Sometimes criticalities turn into opportunities to gain knowledge and experience! From the point of view of the weather, we have had to deal with both excess humidity, as during the 2023 season, and a major drought. In order to deal with these problems and intervene on two fronts, we implemented a rainwater collection system. We saved money and obtained fruits of superior quality thanks to the purity of the rainwater, which does not present the typical salinity of the water in our area."
"As for the monitoring of humidity levels, we installed weather stations that enable us to intervene on the covers to avoid stress and use irrigation even more rationally. Our efforts have been rewarded: traditional varieties such as Victoria and Black Magic boast suitable volumes and excellent quality. We have applied the same production method to seedless varieties, which are appealing and with a good crunchiness and Brix level."
"From a commercial point of view, the first tests carried out were extremely positive: demand was exceptional during the first week of the campaign, at least four times the volumes currently available, and it came from both the domestic and foreign markets. As for seedless varieties, harvesting will start soon, with a premium product in line with demand."
Over the years, Il Galletto managed to maintain high quality standards and a fair quality/price ratio. While making huge investments, the cooperative placed on the market high quality fruit at a contained price. The foreign markets of reference are France, Holland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany.
For more information:
Il Galletto Soc. Cons. Agricola
Via Palermo, snc
95046 - Palagonia (CT)
Tel.: +39 095 7953826
Tel.: +39 335 774 4523
[email protected]
www.auterifruit.it