Interview of Ms.Gaetana Jacono – Owner and Winemaker – Valle dell’Acate for AsiaImportNews – Exclusive

Could you please tell us the story of your winery, when it was created and how it developed decades after decades ?
Valle dell’Acate (literally “Acate Valley”) is located in the historic Bidini domain, amid the winding hills of Valle del Dirillo (Dirillo Valley).

Giuseppe Jacono founded the cantina in the late 19th century, though the Jacono family had been active in vine growing and winemaking ever since Vittoria became Sicily’s epicenter for exporting wine to France during the 1800s. Since then, this familial vocation has been safeguarded and handed down over generations, driven by a shared desire to establish a name for the family’s wines on an international level. Valle dell’Acate has continued this tradition, specializing in the cultivation of the most prized and productive autochthonous vines, creating superior wines, including the crown jewel of Sicilian winemaking: the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG. Over time the company’s spirit has become an authentic expression of the way it makes wine. Our longstanding winemaking tradition dovetails harmoniously with nature, resulting in wines of extraordinary quality and character.

Today Valle dell’Acate, run by the latest generation of the Jacono family together with the Ferreri family, is one of the most important winemaking realities in southeastern Sicily, committed to further ennobling the longstanding vineyard traditions of the Ragusa province, within the Acate-Comiso-Vittoria triangle.

What sort of wines are you producing ?

7 soils for 7 wines
Each individual wine in Valle dell’Acate’s most prestigious line is born of soil that has been identified and carefully selected to help characterize the individual grapevine, resulting in a final product that is a special, unique expression of the soil that produced it. The company always operates with the idea that the “terroir” represents an important added value in producing wines. There are seven distinct soils in the company’s territory, and each encapsulates the essence of Sicily and the Ragusa province, as well as the Jacono family’s winemaking history and Gaetana’s strength and passion.

How important are your export distribution compared to national distribution ?
70 % foreign countries such as: Us, Japan, Europe, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

What sort of distributors are your customers ?
We have only prestigious importers that import  wines directly and only distribute the wines in restaurants and wine shops.  Our customers are passionate and take care of the quality and above all of the wine that has to “walk along” with food and never cover it. This is what our consumers look for.

Why your wines are different from other wineries in your area ?
Our wines are elegant and fine, they are known for these characteristics, they are never heavy or “jammy”. They are “aged” because so are the vine of Frappato, Cerasuolo di Vittoria docg and today this is the only Sicilian docg. The perfect union between the full and velvety Nero d’Avola and the fresh and aromatic Frappato. These are modern wines perfect for today diet, biological and healthy.

Do you produce grapes in a organic or environmental friendly method, or with general methods ?
We are biological in our winery, we are waiting for the certification. We are environmentally friendly.

Are your wines already distributed in Asia, and if not what are the countries you are looking for new distributors ?
Shanghai, Thailand and China.

Thank you Ms.Gaetana Jacono – Owner and Winemaker – Valle dell’Acate for your time and answers!

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