As anyone who knew him well will know, Diego Planeta’s vision always had a decade as his smallest unit of measurement, and a generation as his nearest horizon. In the mid-1980’s he had no problem persuading his brothers and sisters, as they all trusted him implicitly, to plant the first rows of Chardonnay vines and other ‘non conventional’ varieties. His first objective was to initiate a production for the following decade which would excel in the range of Sicilian wines and, as he liked to say, ‘would put Sicily once again on the map’.
But very clearly in his mind there was a second and still more ambitious objective which he had tacitly entrusted to the next generation, that of his children, his nephews and nieces, based on what was planned and then took place in the following thirty years; to produce wines aimed at competing on the world stage, among the great wine regions in which Sicily was fully entitled to participate. This was the integral part of his vision. This legacy from 2014 has become Didacus – from the nickname given by his beloved father to Diego – a wine dedicated to the founder and his vision, to this most difficult and most inspiring challenge. Only time – the only judge and as irrevocable for wine as for men – will determine the outcome of this challenge. Our generation has devoted and will continue to devote all their energies, their abilities and every possible resource to enable Diego Planeta’s vision to become reality.

Sicilia Menfi DOC

The winter was wetter and temperatures were slightly lower than in 2016. So we must be thankful for a perfect summer, never too hot, rather dry and relieved by September rain. This harvest produced perfect grapes both from the viewpoint of health – allowing for natural and spontaneous culling after protective measures with sulphur and copper – and for the expression of their aromatic and tannic profile.