History
The historic feudo
The agricultural complex dates to 1700 and was once among Sicily’s largest feudal estates. Its historic core comprises a Baglio, the enclosed manor complex characteristic of feudal Sicily, and a monumental Palmento. The latter takes its name from the Latin paumentum, referring to pressing, and contains tanks arranged so that must could descend by gravity after the grapes were crushed. Its scale and state of preservation make it exceptional within Sicily.
During the Second World War, while German forces still occupied Sicily, American paratroopers fought at the estate against a column of approximately 700 men. Marks from the fighting remain visible on the Palmento’s walls.
The property formerly belonged to the Branciforte family and subsequently remained abandoned for a prolonged period.
Acquisition, restoration and the modern winery
During the 1990s, Paolo Panerai acquired the estate and began restoring the imposing 18th-century Baglio and Palmento. The historic fabric was conserved without altering the existing structure. A modern production cellar was built in direct connection with the Palmento, combining the old gravity-based arrangement with contemporary winemaking facilities capable of processing up to 10,000 hl.
Feudi del Pisciotto became the first Sicilian estate in the Domini Castellare di Castellina group, drawing on experience developed at Castellare di Castellina and Rocca di Frassinello.
Replanting and development of the vineyards
A major vineyard programme began in 2002. Forty-four hectares were planted or replanted with Sicilian varieties, including Nero d’Avola and Frappato, alongside international grapes such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Nero. Semillon and Gewürztraminer were introduced following Giacomo Tachis’s proposal that these two varieties—not the traditional Zibibbo—should form the basis of a Sicilian passito able to accompany more than dessert.
Marco Parisi joined Feudi del Pisciotto at the end of 2006 to oversee both vineyards and winery. Experience gained in South Africa establishing a modern vine nursery informed an ongoing project to recover indigenous grape varieties.
Wine, fashion and Sicilian art
In 2007, Paolo Panerai conceived the Collezione Grandi Stilisti, joining Sicilian wine with Italian fashion. Versace, Missoni, Blumarine, Alberta Ferretti, Gianfranco Ferré, Brioni, Giambattista Valli and Carolina Marengo created labels and waived their royalties. Part of the collection’s proceeds was assigned to the conservation of Sicilian artworks and historic objects.
The initiative financed the restoration of Giacomo Serpotta’s Baroque stucco triptych L’Eterno. Tachis also inspired the planting of Pinot Nero for a flagship wine carrying the same name and a detail of Serpotta’s sculpture. Production began with the 2011 vintage.
In October 2017, the Collezione Grandi Stilisti received the Wine Style Award for Best Packaging at Bottiglie Aperte.
Hospitality and landscape development
Parts of the restored Palmento and Baglio were converted into a ten-room Wine Relais. The project also created a restaurant beside the Palmento, a tasting room whose glass floor overlooks the barrel cellar, and a terrace facing the vineyards. By the 2018 season, the hospitality complex had added a panoramic swimming pool overlooking the Niscemi valley, while the historic Baglio was furnished with local craftwork, Caltagirone ceramics and Italian design pieces. The new cellar and barrel-room buildings were integrated into the landscape around the 18th-century agricultural nucleus.
A renewed range and civic role
In April 2025, Feudi del Pisciotto introduced a new phase centred on Passito Tachis and two ranges inspired by Sicilian art: Colori di Sicilia and I Putti del Serpotta. The former focuses on four single-variety Sicilian wines with labels based on ceramics by Giacomo Alessi; the latter uses Serpotta’s sculpted putti as its visual theme.
On 12 July 2025, Feudi del Pisciotto was proclaimed a Luogo della memoria in recognition of the Second World War fighting preserved in the fabric of the Palmento.
In May 2026, the estate launched Fata Nascim as a solidarity initiative for Niscemi. Its name is an old Arab-medieval expression associated with local toponymy and legend, translated as “Fairy of the wind” or “Fairy of the gentle breeze.” Net proceeds were directed to interventions supporting the local population and reconstruction, renewing the estate’s connection with the community in which its wine and hospitality activities developed.
Terroir
Feudi del Pisciotto lies in south-eastern Sicily, in the Val di Noto and within the production area of Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG. The estate occupies the triangle between Piazza Armerina, Caltagirone and Vittoria, at the edge of the Riserva Naturale Sughereta di Niscemi and within sight of the Mediterranean.
The historic agricultural nucleus stands on top of a tuff escarpment descending toward the sea. The main body of recently planted vineyards lies at approximately 250 m above sea level, while individual sites extend from about 80 m to 300 m. The vines are approximately 5 km from the sea in a straight line, with the estate generally described as 7 km from the coast.
Altitude and the Mediterranean provide two linked climatic moderators. Sea breezes reach the elevated vineyards, while the sea tempers temperature extremes. Day-to-night temperature variation supports aromatic accumulation and helps preserve organic acids in the grapes.
Soils vary across the estate. They are generally described as medium-textured or loose, often tending toward sand and containing abundant stones. The highest plateau, Piano Spineto, has sandy soils suited to Syrah. Case Vecchie is exceptionally rich in stony material and faces east.
The estate borders the Pisciotto or Sughereta di Niscemi reserve, whose vegetation includes cork oaks and hundreds of woodland species. This protected landscape forms the natural boundary of the vineyards.
Winemaking
The vineyards were comprehensively planted or replanted beginning in 2002, with a balance of Sicilian and international varieties. Native plantings include Nero d’Avola, Frappato, Catarratto and Grillo, while part of the programme explores varieties proposed by Giacomo Tachis, notably Pinot Nero, Semillon and Gewürztraminer.
A group-wide environmental policy adopted at Feudi del Pisciotto excludes herbicides, pesticides and other systemic chemicals. The proximity of the Sughereta di Niscemi, with cork oaks and hundreds of other woodland species, places the vineyards within a biodiversity-rich setting.
Grapes are harvested by hand into small crates. This protects the fruit before it reaches the roof-level reception points of the gravity-flow cellar.
Marco Parisi’s vineyard programme includes recovery work for indigenous varieties, informed by his experience developing a modern vine-cutting nursery in South Africa.
The estate also adapts to individual seasons. In 2021, prolonged low rainfall was offset with emergency irrigation; vineyard position and soil characteristics helped achieve normal yields and good fruit quality. During the difficult 2017 season, June and July rainfall replenished soil-water reserves and moderated temperatures, preventing vine damage. Merlot, the earliest variety discussed that year, faced particular pressure but retained suitable acidity and ripeness.
Historic and modern cellars
The production complex links a new winery directly to the restored 18th-century Baglio and Palmento. The Palmento preserves the historic arrangement of pressing tanks from which must descended under gravity. The modern building is capable of processing up to 10,000 hl and includes an analytical laboratory and a barrel cellar holding more than 700 barriques.
Gravity handling
Hand-harvested grapes arrive in small crates and are carried to the winery roof. Hatches connect the roof directly to fermentation rooms below, allowing grapes and must-wine to descend into the tanks without pumps. This gentle transfer is intended to limit damage to the raw material.
The bottling rooms are positioned lower than the storage tanks. Gravity therefore continues to reduce pump use after vinification, cutting energy consumption and associated carbon-dioxide emissions.
The winery combines this vertical layout with modern production and analytical equipment. The restored Palmento remains physically connected to the contemporary working cellar, making gravity the functional link between the estate’s historic process and its current technology.
Philosophy
Feudi del Pisciotto’s approach joins preservation, modern technology and responsibility toward its Sicilian setting. The 18th-century Palmento was restored without changing its surviving structure, then connected to a contemporary winery that revives gravity movement as a practical production method.
The environmental approach extends the Domini Castellare policy of avoiding herbicides, pesticides and systemic chemicals. In the cellar, the multilevel design reduces pumping both during vinification and before bottling, with corresponding savings in energy and carbon emissions.
Giacomo Tachis’s idea of wine as the product of Sicily’s light and the character of its soils shaped the estate’s varietal experimentation. This led to plantings rarely associated with hot Sicilian conditions—Pinot Nero, Semillon and Gewürztraminer—while the newer ranges place renewed emphasis on native Nero d’Avola, Frappato, Grillo and Catarratto.
Cultural conservation is treated as part of the estate’s relationship with its territory. Designer royalties and part of the proceeds from the Collezione Grandi Stilisti were directed to Sicilian art restoration, beginning with Giacomo Serpotta’s L’Eterno. The Fata Nascim initiative later extended this civic commitment directly to Niscemi and its reconstruction needs.