Planeta

Five centuries of land, three cousins, one first harvest: the roots of Planeta

The Planeta family has been cultivating Sicilian land for over 500 years — 17 generations whose history begins at the Ulmo fortress between Sambuca di Sicilia and Menfi in the southwest of the island. What was initially agriculture and cooperative viticulture was shaped by Diego Planeta in the 1980s into the foundation of a new project: as chairman of the regional institute for vines and wine, he brought renowned consultants like Giacomo Tachis and Carlo Corino to Sicily and made his estates an experimental laboratory for Sicilian and international grape varieties. In 1985, the first vines were planted in Ulmo; ten years later, in 1995, the first bottles were launched under the Planeta name. Behind these first wines were three cousins in their twenties: Francesca, Alessio, and Santi Planeta. They wanted to prove that Sicily could do more than mass-produced goods — and they were right.

What began as one estate became an island-wide journey. After Ulmo, estates followed in Menfi, then Vittoria in the southeast (1997), Buonivini near Noto, Feudo di Mezzo on Mount Etna, and finally La Baronia at Capo Milazzo in the northeast. Today, Planeta comprises around 370 hectares of vineyards in five different growing regions, spread over seven wineries — and produces around 2.4 million bottles annually. The heart of the business still beats in Menfi, where administration, technology, and the family center are located.

Planeta Terra: sustainability as an attitude, not a marketing promise

Planeta is one of the co-founders of SOStain, the Sicilian program for sustainable viticulture, which was launched in 2011; the winery has been certified since 2014. In the meantime, the entire cultivated area — vineyards, olive groves, almonds, grain — is organically certified. The guideline is internally called Planeta Terra: a protocol of agronomic and operational practices that understands agriculture as a source of well-being for people and nature. Specifically, this means: economic viability, ecological awareness, and social responsibility as equal pillars. At Capo Milazzo, for example, there is a minimalist, demountable cellar made of iron and stone — deliberately built so that it can leave the territory without a trace if necessary. In addition, there is the Viti Diverse project, which aims to protect the genetic diversity of Sicilian grape varieties: over 400 older mother plants from vineyards with more than 20 years were identified and analyzed in order to secure the island's grape variety heritage for future generations.

From Menfi to Mount Etna: style, grape varieties, and the range at a glance

Planeta understands Sicily as an independent wine continent — and every location brings its own style. In Menfi, the Chardonnay that once made the winery internationally known is produced, as well as the Alastro Bianco from Grecanico. The Cometa, a white wine from the southern Italian variety Fiano, is now considered one of the most famous white wines in southern Italy: peach, mandarin, herbs — with power and freshness at the same time. In Vittoria, Nero d'Avola and Frappato are vinified for Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily's only DOCG. Near Noto, Nero d'Avola shows its most concentrated, dark-fruited side. Finally, on Mount Etna — on volcanic subsoil, at altitudes with significantly cooler nights — the wines of the Eruzione 1614 line are created: the Carricante as a mineral-salty white wine, the Nerello Mascalese as a transparent, low-tannin red wine with a Burgundian flair. International craftsmanship and Sicilian identity are not a contradiction at Planeta — they are mutually dependent.