L’Italian Sommelier Associationwith over 40 thousand registered members, has been pursuing a well-defined mission for almost sixty years: to promote and enhance the dissemination of Italian food and wine culture. The AIS sommeliers are thus, to all intents and purposes, the most authoritative spokesmen of the culture of wine, oil and their respective table pairings from different points of view such as educational, technical, strategic or consultancy. For Sunday 19 Mayor, at the Cloister of San Domenico in Trapani, AIS Sicily for the whole day he organized “Wines and Oils of Sicily”, an event to raise awareness among students, enthusiasts, food and wine lovers in general, of the absolute and cultural value that wine and oil have had and still have in Sicilian history and tradition. “Wines and Oils of Sicily” will be a thematic study that will give participants the opportunity to learn about the origins, production processes and evolutions of two “goods”, wine and oil, of very remote origins, today capital and predominant “emblems” of the Mediterranean area, symbols of excellence, historic expressions of culture and ancient skills handed down in an ancestral way to the present day. «Taking inspiration from what the institution of the National Wine and Oil Culture Day is for AIS – states Francesco Baldacchino, president of AIS Sicilia – it is important for us communicators of food and wine to carry forward the dissemination and valorisation of the excellences of our island. Alongside our already much acclaimed wine excellences, with “Wines and Oils of Sicily” we also want to celebrate the priceless heritage of Sicilian olive growing and its extra virgin olive oils, also combining the latter with a cuisine that will forever be imbued with our rich tradition, but who has the future in his sights in a far-sighted manner on a daily basis.” It will, therefore, Trapani the Sicilian city protagonist of the event, together with its Cloister of San Domenico, located right in via Salita S. Domenico, with its breathtaking charm and its enchanting architectural beauty, to host the organizational machine of AIS Sicilia. L’Italian Sommelier Association of Sicily for its promotional event “Wines and Oils of Sicily” will have, for the occasion, the interesting and participatory involvement of the association “The Women of Sicilian Wine” and of “Roads of Wine and Flavors of Sicily”. The program of “Wines and Oils of Sicily”will include a series of events that will include the entire day of Sunday 19 May. Thematic talk shows, tasting of Sicilian extra virgin olive oilswine and oil tasting tables available to participants, two interesting ones comparative masterclasses on the Catarratto and Perricone vines with their expressions of the different production areas, a cooking show of a chef in which, from appetizer to dessert, extra virgin olive oil will be the absolute protagonist at the table. It will be possible to purchase individual tickets for internal events now “Wines and Oils of Sicily” through the “shop” section of the AIS Sicilia website (www.aissicilia.com). Anyone who purchases at least one ticket between the wine masterclasses and/or the cooking show will have the right to participate free of charge in the tastings of the products of around 50 companies, including olive oil and wine producers, at the tasting tables.
The program of “Wines and Oils of Sicily”
· 10.30 am · Opening talk show
Subjects:
- National theme “The Mediterranean, landscapes of the agricultural heritage” with the presence of speakers and authorities and with the involvement of “Strade del Vino e dei Sapori di Sicilia”;
- “The role of women in the world of modern agriculture from soil to marketing” with the presence of the “Le Donne del Vino” association.
· 12.00 pm · Comparative guided tasting of extra virgin olive oil
Tasting dedicated to Sicilian extra virgin olive oil and presentation of the project on teaching AIS courses on oil. Tasting guided by an oil expert and an AIS speaker.
· 4.00 pm · Opening of the tasting tables
of participating companies (wine and oil companies)
· 5.00 pm · Comparative masterclass on wines made from Catarratto grapes from various areas
· 6.30 pm · Comparative masterclass on wines made from Perricone grapes from various areas
· 8.00 pm · Cooking show “Sicilian extra virgin olive oil in Mediterranean cuisine”
At the table with 5 different Sicilian extra virgin olive oils, from appetizers to desserts. A chef will prepare 5 tasting proposals live which will be paired with 5 wines for tasting
9.30 pm Closing of the event
