In the early 1980’s Salvatore Di Gaetano’s passion for wine drew him to a unique place: Contrada Firriato in the extraordinary countryside outside the city of Trapani. It is a land, which bears the deep and indelible signs of wine-growing and the culture of wine, nestled between Trapani’s marvelous sea and coastline and the majestic rock on which the town of Erice stands. Those were the early days in the career of a young entrepreneur in love with his land who had the ability of seeing it through new eyes, of perceiving the huge potential for the development of winemaking excellence in the valleys of the Trapani area. He believed that this potential had not been fully tapped yet with the right commitment and approach to production. It all started in the vineyard with the planting of the first Nero d’Avola, Catarratto and Ansonica grapevines with all of the care required by modern wine-growing, centered on the concept that the quality of a wine is rooted in the vineyard and in its agronomic management. Only healthy grapes harvested at the right point of ripening and with a fully developed range of organoleptic features must be sent to the wine cellar. At Firriato, respect for the naturalness of grapes, exalting their wine-making potential and enhancing the unique features of each grape variety are the rules that Salvatore Di Gaetano has strictly followed right from the beginning, harvest after harvest. These rules have allowed for the creation of a new model of winery rooted in the local territory and focused on more demanding and educated markets. In the field of quality wines, Sicily is finally leaving that gray area, which has penalized its lands and firms for too long. A new and exciting season is starting for Italian wine-making and the driving force behind it is Sicily. The Firriato firm and the Di Gaetano family, along with Sicily’s biggest names in wine-making, are the leading players in this major development not only in economic and production terms, but also and, above all, for the very quality of the wines and the ability to sense changes in consumer tastes ahead of time. Turbulent and intense years have followed unrelentingly: new wines have been created, new estates purchased and wine cellar techniques and technologies developed and improved. Many prizes and awards have followed, but, most important of all, favor with consumers has grown steadily, allowing the firm to travel all over the world, because the world has finally discovered Sicily and its wines. Firriato is among Sicily’s leading wineries in best interpreting this new international dimension and perspective, which it has intensively and regularly invested in, allowing it to be one of the sector’s best and well-consolidated examples of distribution and commercial success in Sicily. The face and voice behind this entrepreneurial success are those of Mrs. Vinzia Novara Di Gaetano. In the mid-1990’s her husband Salvatore asked her to help run the business on a full-time basis. In the meantime she has become its most genuine epitome. The spontaneity and communicative naturalness of this ‘Lady of Sicilian wine-making’ have become a precious resource capable of being an added value and drawing attention, curiosity and respect. Vinzia Di Gaetano is one and all with the winery in running the estates and not just simply managing communications. She believes that in order to convey the firm’s essence you need to live it, have a thorough knowledge of it, and calling all those participating in the Firriato project by name, from the vineyard to the wine cellar. 1998 marks the beginning of the extraordinary bond between Vinzia Novara Di Gaetano and FIRRIATO. Her face is behind all the labels that her husband Salvatore creates. The images she chooses tell that FIRRIATO has a soul, a color and a vision and that these elements match perfectly with a land, which is truly extraordinary for its beauty and generosity. Teamwork, spreading enthusiasm and sharing values and emotions in the world of quality wine is just as vital as breathing is. At Firriato, you can see the sense of belonging and the pride of sharing the project of making Sicily’s vineyards grow and thrive everywhere, in everyone’s eyes; you can hear it in the words of those who are working hard with true and undiminished passion. In this regard, Firriato is a family-run business, because it is a large family that shares the dream of that young Sicilian entrepreneur who had the intuition and promoted the revival of Sicilian quality wine.