The most important Sicilian wine event, a tool for promoting Sicily in Italy and abroad, Sicilia en primeur was born in 2003 as an international preview of the latest wine vintage, aimed at the Italian and foreign press.
For the 19th edition, JustSicily organized the entire event, with the idea of using wine as a fil rouge to the discovery of the island, crossing the knowledge in the design of customized itineraries related to the world of aeno-gastronomy and that related to event planning for international companies.
The event, curated by Assovini Sicilia, began with 9 different customized winetours for press professionals, who traveled from east to west along the Sicilian wine landscape, having the opportunity for tailor-made tours to a selection of Sicilian wineries and companies, on-site wine tastings with the participation of producers, and historical-cultural or naturalistic forays to discover the island’s facets and potential.
After 3 days of immersive wine-experience, on Thursday, May 11, journalists were welcomed at the NH Hotel in Taormina, the Plage Resort in Mazzarò was the iconic location of Friday morning’s technical tastings for wine professionals, while lifestyle journalists were accompanied by JustSicily on a dedicated tour to discover Taormina, Castelmola and Savoca.
On Saturday, May 13, the beautiful setting of Radicepura hosted the Sicilia en Primeur conference and a walk-around tasting among the stations of the various Sicilian wineries.
The experience of the team, coordinated by Giusi Macchiarella, allowed JustSicily to become the hub for the organization of the entire event, taking care of:
- participation/selection of locations for the event;
- relationship with the press office AB Communication;
- event secretariat;
- air ticketing at the best available conditions for all participating journalists incoming to Sicily;
- direct email correspondence with invited journalists to choose the best flight itinerary according to different departure/destination locations and specific needs;
- organization of 9 different 2-night/3-day winetours that include visits to wineries and the Sicilian territory; related overnight accommodations in wineries or small hotels appropriate to the standard of the participants; coordination of transportation by minibus; organization of hosting lunches and dinners;
- hotel accommodations for all participants with relative sending of rooming lists to the various facilities involved, both for the winetour and for the event;
- management of transfers to/from airports on arrival and departure;
- management of entrance lists to the event locations;
- economic relationship with suppliers;
- preparation of promotional materials;
- coordination of on-site activities;
- hostess service for airport reception, assistance on minibuses during winetours, assistance at all event locations, distribution of customized materials for each participant;
- organization and appropriate choice of cultural visits/excursions from the location;
- choice of menus and locations for tastings/lunches/dinners;