Baglio Di Pianetto Wine as Works of Modern Art: Each Label Is Unique

The new labels designed by Palermo urban artist Andrea Buglisi, author of murals dedicated to Falcone and Borsellino, tell the story of the wine's connection to the territory and their organoleptic qualities.

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Phoenicians, Arabs, Normans, and Spaniards are some of the peoples who dominated the city of Palermo during past centuries, shaping its art, architecture, food, and population. The city is a melting pot that has come together over the years, building a unique ecosystem of great historical and cultural value. These characteristics of it have made it the destination and dream of many, leading the most daring to settle and create a deep connection. This also happened to Count Paolo Marzotto, a member of the Vicenza textile dynasty of the same name, who fell in love with the Palermo countryside and, indulging his great passion for wine, decided to establish the Baglio di Pianetto winery in 1997.

Palermo celebrates its uniqueness in the diversity and complexity of its history, which is why in Santa Cristina Gela - in the metropolitan territory of the capital city - Paolo Marzotto decided not only to focus on native grape varieties such as Grillo and Catarratto, but also international varieties like Merlot, Petit Verdot, Viognier - the first to bring it to Sicily - and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Pianetto Estate, where it all originated, is initiated in Santa Cristina Gela, near Palermo, at 650 meters above sea level and is an authentic kaleidoscope of peculiar microclimatic conditions: exposure, altitude, temperature range and ventilation translate into freshness, elegance, and longevity in the bottle.

Located on the southeastern coast of Sicily, between Noto and Pachino at 50 m above sea level, is the Baroni Estate. The proximity to the sea and the mild climate favor the regularity of the plants' production cycle, and the calcareous soils give the wines minerality and flavor. The Marzotto family's desire to also try their hand at mountain viticulture has found its landing place in Passopisciaro, on the northern slope of Etna, where Baglio di Pianetto manages 6 hectares of vineyards, in the Bonanno and Arcuria districts, between 700 and 750 m. asl. From the high hills of the Palermo countryside to the heart of the Val di Noto to Mount Etna, Baglio di Pianetto thus expresses with its wines the three souls of Sicilian viticulture guarded in an agricultural heritage of a total of 160 hectares.

Since the beginning, sustainability and organic production have been the two founding principles of the company's philosophy and of a process that aims to respect biodiversity by limiting environmental impact in all production phases, because the quality of a wine is born and developed in the vineyard. Since 2016, in fact, all the wines produced have been certified organic, and the winery itself also aims to operate in a sustainable manner thanks to a series of solutions such as a winery developed vertically and completely underground to take advantage of the geothermal system, the recovery of rainwater for emergency irrigation of the vineyards, and energy efficiency and autonomy from renewable sources.

Wines

The big news for 2023, however, has to do with art, and Vice President Pierluigi Ventura revealed it to us during Vinitaly: "We have renewed our single variety organic line: not in terms of content, but in terms of what it looks like. We made new labels that were designed by Andrea Buglisi, an urban artist from Palermo. The idea was born to create a project that would tie us more closely to the territory, one that could tell all its many facets and layers. In fact, we consider ourselves a Palermo-based winery, and we could not help but choose an artist who is strongly linked to the city and active in the urban regeneration of neighborhoods and places in the Sicilian capital through his striking murals. Among them is The Giants' Gate of 2021, composed of two large depictions of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, created near the bunker room of Palermo's Ucciardone prison."

“Meeting an artist who testifies to something in such a strong way was almost a must for us, and with Andrea Buglisi, we immediately hit it off. And that's how the seven single variety organic labels, four whites, and three reds, were reworked in a Palermitan style," Ventura added. "Andrea tasted our wines and recreated the sensations she felt while tasting. A woman dives fearlessly into the atmosphere and tradition of Palermo, as Baglio di Pianetto ventures into the production of a different, high-altitude Grillo with a pungent freshness. Or a man bowls and impersonates the strength, precision, and persistence of our Nero d'Avola," the vice president told us. The release of these new labels is also Baglio di Pianetto's way of remembering Andrea Tiralongo, the CEO who died prematurely, through a project in which he had believed so much.

Another important new release in 2023 is Murriali, a still wine already made in the past but presented this year in a sparkling version. "A product that is showing great results within very few months. The idea was to make 30,000 bottles but given the trend we expect to reach 60,000 bottles by the end of the year. We will not go any further because our goal has always been to make good and sustainable wine without overdoing it in the name of profit," concluded Pierluigi Ventura.