Valdibella

Camporeale’s agricultural foundations, 1642–1767

In the summer of 1642, seven Jesuits arrived in the Valdibella district and established the community from which Camporeale developed. Drawing on the intellectual environment of the Gregorian University, they organized an efficient farm, introduced seeds and tree varieties, experimented with cultivation techniques and established new working relationships with local farmers. Viticulture held particular importance: their accounts recorded payments to specialist grafters brought in from elsewhere, while the resulting wines were sent to Jesuit houses around the world and served at prominent tables.

A royal decree expelled the Society of Jesus from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the winter of 1767. After 125 years of activity, the inventory of confiscated property recorded cellars, barrels, grape presses and four vineyards containing 108,180 vines. The Jesuits also left a large agricultural complex, equipment, provisions, artworks and a tradition of organized, collective land management that later became part of Valdibella’s understanding of cooperation.

Agricultural decline and the first organic conversion

From the 1950s onward, increasingly intensive working methods disrupted the local agricultural ecosystem. Biodiversity diminished, soils became poorer and many residents left the countryside, weakening the historic relationship between people and the land.

In 1994, a group of farmers founded Cooperativa Agricola Makellon and began converting their farms to organic agriculture. This marked the first organized step toward restoring soil health, biodiversity and a less exploitative agricultural economy.

Foundation of Valdibella, 1998–2004

Valdibella was founded in June 1998 through the meeting of Fabio Vezzuto, associated with the Itaca community, and Massimiliano Solano, representing Makellon’s producers. The new cooperative joined sustainable agriculture to social action through the Jonathan project, which supported the work reintegration of young people from the Itaca community. Its founding aims included restoring dignity to farmers, opposing commercial and labor exploitation, protecting native crops and biodiversity, and demonstrating that small farmers could achieve more through cooperation.

Construction of production facilities began in 2000 so that members’ crops could be transformed into finished products within the cooperative structure. In 2004 Valdibella began its collaboration with Addiopizzo, aligning the project with a transparent economy free from mafia influence; the Addiopizzo emblem subsequently appeared on Valdibella products.

Public initiatives and participatory supply chains, 2012–2018

Valdibella held the first edition of Seminare il Futuro in 2012. In 2016, it helped open a Valdibella shop in Turin. Santo Solano, a cooperative member and driving force behind the initiative, Marco Ferro of Vinologo Torino and a network of supporters participated in its foundation.

Between 2016 and 2018, the cooperative developed its first participatory supply chains. A collaboration connecting Sicily and Belgium brought producers and local organizations together in The Food Hub, designed to create a direct relationship between farmers and consumers. This experience led to Belfood and the opening of a shop in Molenbeek, Brussels, with the social cooperative Atelier Groot Eiland.

In 2018, Valdibella was recognized among the custodian farmers of Timilia, acknowledging its work to protect and promote the ancient Sicilian wheat variety.

Community, education and culture, 2020 onward

In September 2020, eighteen cooperative members and supporters inaugurated the Slow Food community “Valdibella per la biodiversità e l’agricoltura sociale,” created to spread food culture, defend biodiversity and encourage change in food production, processing and distribution.

The Practical School of Agroecology, or SPAE, was established in 2021. It developed into an annual training program combining scientific instruction, participatory design and direct work in fields. Its subjects include soil biology, biodiversity, water management, animals within agroecosystems, markets, supply chains, agricultural policy and whole-farm agroecological design.

Valdibella became a host organization for Servizio Civile Universale in 2024, welcoming young people for work and training grounded in responsibility and participation. The first Camporeale Food Film Festival was also held in 2024, connecting cinema with food, agriculture, sustainability and cooperative labor.

In 2025, Massimiliano Solano’s Azienda Agricola Parrino was selected among Europe’s Top 50 Farmers for its regenerative-agriculture work. The recognition highlighted a member farm closely involved in Valdibella rather than the cooperative as a corporate award.

Recent wine-project developments

In 2026, the Nerello Mascalese formerly presented as Àgape was given the new identity Zefira. Its name derives from Zéfiro, the west wind that crosses the C.da Curbici vineyard. Floriana Scardino and Marta Nicolino tend the vineyard, while Nicola Colombo oversees the wine with a deliberately restrained cellar approach.

Valdibella’s cooperative vineyards extend through the countryside of Camporeale and into Alcamo, with additional specialized sites at Grisì in Partinico. The documented vineyards range from approximately 200 to 500 m above sea level. Camporeale’s higher hills combine ventilation with marked temperature variation, conditions closely associated with the character of its Nero d’Avola.

The soils form a varied mosaic rather than a single uniform profile. Documented types include clay-calcareous soils; clay-sand soils; clay-loam and silty-clay soils; medium-textured ground; clay soils containing sandstone outcrops; sites with pebbles or a modest skeletal component; and sandy soils. This diversity is expressed through distinct sites.

At C.da Curbici, Nerello Mascalese grows at 500 m on clay-loam soil. The ground retains sufficient moisture while allowing roots to penetrate deeply. A persistent west wind dries and refreshes the rows, while the elevation brings significant temperature variation.

The Parrino vineyard occupies the highest part of its hill at 500 m. Its clay soil supports Catarratto Extra Lucido even with limited water. The old Catarratto vineyard used for Ninfa stands at 450 m on clay to clay-sandy ground with sandstone rock; sun and wind help maintain healthy fruit, while ripening proceeds slowly into September.

Near Mount Bonifato at Alcamo, a small north to north-west-facing Catarratto Extra Lucido vineyard grows above an extensive travertine bank containing important fossil remains. The geological formation contributes a pronounced mineral dimension and was selected as particularly suited to a sparkling-wine base.

At Grisì in Partinico, Moscato Nero occupies the summit of a tuffaceous hill overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. The site lies at 400 m, with sandy ground, a mild climate and maritime breezes.

Organic conversion began on the members’ farms in 1994 and developed into a broader agroecological program. Current bottled wines principally carry CSQA organic certification, while the Moscato Nero project carries Valoritalia certification. The cooperative has subsequently begun a transition toward organic-regenerative agriculture with support from SPAE.

Valdibella applies its Biodiversity Charter across production. The charter goes beyond organic compliance by treating fields as ecological balance centers. Commercial crops are interspersed with locally established plants, including vines, olives, almonds, figs and pomegranates, and are connected with small woods, ponds, uncultivated ground, hedges and stone piles. These elements provide habitat, improve ecological continuity and make the agroecosystem more stable.

Soil fertility and canopy management are central to vineyard care, with targeted interventions designed to have very low environmental impact. Crop rotations, periods of rest and legumes are used to regenerate soil; sulla is singled out for its regenerative capacity. The broader transition favors reduced soil disturbance, permanent ecological infrastructure, local varieties and greater biological diversity.

Harvesting is manual. Grapes are collected in small crates or baskets, and bunches are selected individually so that only sound fruit enters the cellar. Yields vary by site and variety, from approximately 20 q/ha for Moscato Nero to 90 q/ha for the Mount Bonifato Catarratto Extra Lucido; old bush-trained Catarratto and the Fargione cru are held near 50 q/ha.

Winemaking is built around organically grown fruit, manual harvesting, indigenous microorganisms and limited correction. Grapes arrive in small crates or baskets after bunch-by-bunch selection.

White-wine protocols include whole-bunch crushing or pressing and static pressing. Some lots rest in the press for 12 hours at 8°C; others receive overnight skin contact at 6–8°C. Skin-contact whites may begin with a static cap for 24–48 hours before pump-overs and remain on their skins for approximately 12 to 16 days.

Fermentations begin with a pied de cuve or naturally fermenting must prepared from grapes from the same vineyard, commonly about 36 hours or several days beforehand. No laboratory-selected yeast is used. Temperature-controlled white fermentations generally operate around 15–16°C. Red protocols begin after destemming, often without crushing, with a static cap followed by pump-overs. Documented red macerations range from about 8 to 14 days, with fermentation temperatures commonly between 18 and 25°C in current protocols. Pomace is then separated and pressed. Malolactic fermentation for red wines proceeds spontaneously.

Maturation takes place in stainless steel, concrete, large wooden vessels or oak barrels according to the lot. Core whites and reds commonly remain in steel or concrete for four to eight months; several whites mature on their own lees with bâtonnage. The Perricone cru spends 12 months in oak followed by six months in bottle. Moscato Nero rests for eight months in steel and then two years in large oak barrels. The traditional-method Catarratto Extra Lucido undergoes at least 30 months on its lees and is disgorged with the same wine rather than a sugar-containing dosage.

Memorii uses a perpetual system recovered from rural household practice. Multiple vintages mature together in a large wooden vessel; after each bottling, new wine replenishes the cask, preserving material from the preceding vintages while gradually refreshing the blend.

Across the range, sulfite additions are kept low. Invasive clarification, acidity regulators and added sugar are excluded, and the wines are not rushed into bottle.

Valdibella treats agriculture as a common good because it produces the food on which communities depend. Its model places peasant agriculture at the center and links environmental care to fair labor, social inclusion and transparent trade.

The cooperative regards soil as living rather than as property to be exploited. Its stated approach is to observe, understand and respect the land, restore ecological relationships damaged by postwar agriculture and create working landscapes that are both healthy and worth inhabiting. Organic farming is understood not as nostalgia but as an urgent response to future ecological conditions.

Cooperation extends beyond the farmer-members. Valdibella’s participatory-supply-chain model asks producers, processors, consumers and partners to share responsibility until the agricultural act is completed through eating. Shorter chains are intended to support dialogue, transparency and fair payment.

In the cellar, respect is expressed through healthy organic fruit, indigenous fermentation, time and restraint. The goal is a clean, direct expression rooted in grape variety and place, with cellar skill measured partly by knowing when not to intervene. Vintage and site differences are allowed to remain visible rather than being corrected into uniformity.

Social responsibility forms part of the same philosophy. Work is treated as a form of care: the cooperative welcomes vulnerable people, creates employment-integration pathways and collaborates with local organizations to build opportunities through agriculture.