History
The family estate
Dispensa has belonged to the Planeta family since 1755. It lies among the hills of Menfi and became both a family home and the operational centre of the agricultural company. The residences are gathered within the Baglio; production, administration and logistics developed around it.
The Planeta family’s agricultural history extends across almost five centuries and 17 generations. Dispensa occupies a distinct place within that history: it is described as the cornerstone of family and company life, the place where important moments are shared and where research and operational projects are initiated.
1996: the first vineyards
The first vineyards at Dispensa and Gurra were planted in 1996. The Dispensa plantings formed part of Planeta’s early expansion in Menfi following the first harvest at Ulmo in 1995. Documented plantings at Dispensa include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Fiano; the Cabernet Sauvignon includes the old Tunno vineyard.
2001: Cantina Piccola
Cantina Piccola was established at Dispensa in 2001. It later became home to Repertorio, the family’s wine vault. The collection contains every vintage of Planeta wines together with selected labels from producers around the world.
2005: Cantina Grande
The first harvest was processed in Cantina Grande in 2005. With the large and small wineries operating together, Dispensa became the origin of most of the company’s production as well as its principal production, administrative and logistics headquarters.
Sustainability laboratory
The Planeta Terra programme began in 2009. Dispensa became the starting point for research into the company’s sustainability protocols: procedures were progressively tested and refined here before application across the five territories.
Planeta helped found and promote the SOStain programme, created in 2011, and has held SOStain certification since 2014. The agronomic model evolved away from bare, repeatedly cultivated soil and mineral fertilisation toward seasonal vegetation, purpose-sown cover crops and organic fertilisation. Chemical herbicide use was eliminated in 2014.
Soil-biological monitoring recorded a rise in Dispensa’s QBS-ar score from 81 in 2016 to 111 in 2017, while its biological soil-quality class improved from 4 to 5. The work formed part of a longer-term programme measuring how changing soil management affected arthropods, rhizosphere life and biodiversity.
Organic conversion
Menfi completed its organic-conversion period in 2021. By 2022, all cultivated Planeta land—vineyards, olive groves, almond orchards and cereals—was certified organic.
La Segreta and Repertorio
La Segreta became a broader wine line in 2017 with the release of varietal Grillo and Nero d’Avola alongside the existing wines. In 2024 the range received new packaging centred on Sicilian flora. Its “100% Sicily” bottle was developed with the SOStain Foundation, paired with FSC-certified paper and labels inspired by Giuseppe Riggio’s illustrated herbarium from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In 2025 Repertorio 1694 evolved from the historic wine club into an e-commerce and collecting platform. The physical archive remains inside the Dispensa winery, but the project opened access to mature vintages, limited editions, collectible bottles, oils and special packages. Its name links music—an enduring element in the Planeta family imagination—with 1694, the year the family acquired Ulmo and established its roots in the area.
Terroir
Dispensa lies in the rolling hills of Menfi in southwestern Sicily. The wider Menfi territory extends from the sea to hills reaching 400 metres, with native and international varieties allocated according to the characteristics of individual terroirs.
The documented Dispensa Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard stands at approximately 75 metres above sea level. Its soil is moderately deep, tending toward chalkiness, moderately calcareous and almost without coarse skeletal material. The corresponding yield is 60 quintals per hectare.
Two Dispensa vineyard samples were included in agronomic-impact monitoring: a 41,812.66 m² Cabernet Sauvignon block and the 73,325.60 m² Dispensa Case Fiano block. The estate’s hill setting and its differing varieties make it an important part of the lower-altitude component of Menfi, contrasting with Planeta’s higher vineyards elsewhere in the territory.
Winemaking
Dispensa is managed under certified-organic agriculture and the SOStain® sustainability protocol. Menfi completed organic conversion in 2021; by 2022 all vineyards and other cultivated Planeta land were certified organic.
Inter-row vegetation is retained throughout winter to reduce runoff and erosion, maintain organic matter and provide habitat for soil fauna. Depending on vineyard conditions, the cover may consist of native spontaneous plants or purpose-sown mixtures. Clover, vetch and yellow mustard are among the documented cover-crop species at Dispensa. They contribute biomass and nitrogen and support soil microfauna.
The grass cover is normally incorporated between late winter and early spring, with timing adjusted to the season and the flowering stage. Work may be staggered across alternating rows; delaying part of the incorporation produces more slowly decomposing fibre and a more stable humus matrix.
Plant health is supported with minimal quantities of sulphur and copper. Pest management uses beneficial insects, mating disruption and natural restorative materials including zeolite, kaolin and plant extracts. Chemical herbicides have been excluded since 2014, and organic fertilisation replaced the earlier model based principally on mineral fertilisers.
Biodiversity monitoring uses soil arthropods as indicators of biological activity. Samples are prepared through the Berlese method and have been analysed in collaboration with Fondazione Mach in San Michele all’Adige. Dispensa’s QBS-ar score rose from 81 to 111 between 2016 and 2017, and its biological soil-quality class improved from 4 to 5.
SOStain also requires recyclable or biodegradable materials for new vineyards and environmentally compatible materials in existing vineyards. Avoidable plastic and concrete are excluded from new vineyard infrastructure.
Dispensa contains two production facilities, Cantina Piccola and Cantina Grande. The small winery was established in 2001; the large winery processed its first harvest in 2005. Together they handle most of Planeta’s production, while the surrounding complex serves as the company’s administrative and logistics headquarters.
Cantina Piccola contains Repertorio, the family vault holding every vintage of Planeta wines and a collection of selected wines from around the world. Mature vintages function as a record of the development of the family’s winemaking approach.
The Menfi wineries receive part of their energy from 300 m² of photovoltaic panels. Wood biomass is used for boilers wherever possible.
Within the SOStain/VIVA framework, total sulphur-dioxide ceilings are set at 100 mg/L for red wines, 150 mg/L for white and rosé wines, 170 mg/L for sweet reds, 220 mg/L for sweet whites and 155 mg/L for quality sparkling wines. At least 25% of marketed labels are analysed each year, creating a four-year cycle covering the full range and checking compliance concerning pesticide residues, ochratoxins and heavy metals.
Packaging has become a further production priority. The “100% Sicily” bottle is made on the island from locally collected recycled glass. The broader programme has reduced bottle weight, increased recycled-glass content to more than 90%, and uses 410 g bottles for relevant ranges.
Philosophy
Dispensa is conceived as both the emotional centre of the Planeta family and the operational centre of the company. The Baglio joins domestic life to production, research, administration and logistics rather than treating the winery as an isolated industrial facility.
Its research role is central: sustainability protocols are tested and refined at Dispensa before being transferred to the other territories. The approach treats sustainability as continuous improvement rather than a completed destination, balancing three aims—economic viability, ecological attention and social fairness.
Agriculture is understood as an activity that should coexist with its environment. This leads to minimally interventionist farming, organic certification, scientific monitoring of soil life, investment in biodiversity and the use of regional resources and expertise.
The wider wine philosophy combines research into indigenous varieties—including varieties at risk of being forgotten—with study of how Sicily’s different terroirs accommodate international grapes. Dispensa embodies that balance through plantings such as Fiano and Chardonnay alongside Cabernet Sauvignon.
Repertorio expresses a concept of dynamic tradition: the family’s mature vintages and historical memory are preserved while access is expanded through contemporary technology. The library and cultural programmes similarly connect wine production with agriculture, scholarship, art and public discussion.