With Autentica, the taste and fragrance of grapes are valued once again
In an increasingly flooded low-end market with reduced quality, the real key to success is presenting offers that attract consumers with their taste and uniqueness, prompting them to repurchase subsequently.
“In this perspective,” explains Salvatore Novello, FreshPlaza, from the Novello & C. company of Mazzarrone (CT), “our company vision is to bring back the ancient flavors to consumers’ tables.”
We will do this with Autentica, a project linked to a productive technique aimed at enhancing and exalting the characteristics of the grape that made the Italia variety known worldwide.
Therefore, we will focus on the typical muscat fragrance of the cultivar, the straw yellow color typical of the white soils of the area, the thinness of the skin, and the terroir.
“The authentic table grape with a unique and unmistakable taste. It’s an adjective recognizable even in major foreign languages.”
If the standard-bearer of Autentica is the Italia grape, the project remains open to all other varieties.
The disciplinary – currently being registered – requires respect for the plants and the prohibition of certain more industrialized agricultural practices like the use of hormones or plant growth regulators that tend to flatten the flavors and cause the product to lose its inherent characteristics.
New season just around the corner
“The table grape campaign – continues Novello – is in line with previous years, with the exception of the last one which we started ten days late. The early varieties in the greenhouse, mainly Victoria and Black Magic, along with some seedless batches, present good quality and a harvest period that fits well into the European market, which is quite open as volumes from the southern hemisphere of the world are limited. Due to the dry and very hot winter, the berries have a higher sugar level.”
The first week of June will officially mark the start of the season.
“Throughout the sixth month of the year, harvesting will take place in the greenhouse. From the point of view of the shape and cleanliness of the bunch, the product is good, with excellent berry uniformity. Therefore, the initial phases look positive. Yields are in line with the average of recent years.”
The campaign will continue until December with the Italia, Red Globe, and some late seedless batches.
95% of the company’s grapes are exported, mainly to European countries such as France, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium (65% large-scale distribution, 35% traditional markets). “The quality product makes the difference in the Swiss and Belgian markets, but France also tends to highlight the organoleptic qualities of Sicilian grapes.” In recent years, Germany has grown from a quality perspective, refining tastes; until a few years ago, it was considered a rougher market.
Furthermore, we manage to reach the Middle East and Central America with some shipments. This year, then, we will have to enter the Canadian market, following the visit of Canadian phytosanitary inspectors on October 12, 2015. (cf. FreshPlaza of 19/10/2015)
Novello Annual Meeting
Yet another success for the usual Meeting organized by Novello, on the occasion of the imminent commercial season.
Many and interesting topics addressed.
From technical issues, concerning the production territory with its peculiarities and difficulties, to new production techniques and the safeguarding of the territory through the use of non-invasive and non-harmful products for the environment.
Various guests intervened at the round table: Amélie Mastalerz (marketing manager for the Novello Company), Luca Iovine (natural biofertilizers), Filippo Ferlito (CREA researcher, Council for Research in Agriculture and Analysis of the Agricultural Economy), Graziano De Filippis (quality and agronomist manager – Giuliano Srl), Giuseppe Tornello and Gaetano Digeronimo (Coragro agronomists), Sergio Lorenti (quality systems manager).
“The Novello company,” comments Novello, “has three generations of grape growers, and the events we organize have the main purpose of passing down certain values and practices to all future generations, as well as the ambitious project of raising the level of awareness and attracting the attention of researchers to our territory and sector which has been left to its own devices for too long.”
Author: Maria Luigia Brusco
Copyright:www.freshplaza.it