Donnafugata
Donnafugata Winery is one of Italy’s finest wineries and praised by wine critics and wine lovers alike all over the globe. Located in Sicily, Donnafugata has various estates including the historic cellar in Marsala, the beautiful Contessa Entellina country house and vineyards in the western interior of the island, and another winery and estate in the windswept island of Pantelleria off Sicily’s southwest coast. The Rallo family who owns Donnafugata have been in the wine business for over a century and the current generation is extremely dynamic and visionary. The Donnafugata brand was born in the early 1980s by Giacomo and Gabriella Rallo in the family’s historic cellars and today their children José and Antonio play prominent roles in the company.
The name Donnafugata refers to the novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa entitled Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). A name that means “donna in fuga” (woman in flight) and refers to the story of a queen who found refuge in the part of Sicily where the company’s vineyards are located today. An adventure that inspired the corporate logo: the image of a woman’s head with windblown hair that dominates every bottle. Donnafugata labels are also works of art created or inspired by Gabriella Rallo, as are the names of the wines, an homage to art and literature.
In the vineyard Donnafugata does not use herbicides and chemical fertilizers, and minimizes the use of phytopharmaceuticals thanks to integrated control techniques, such as the monitoring of climate parameters (rainfall, temperature, humidity etc.) and the control of insects (moths) present, through the use of pheromone traps. Donnafugata is also pursuing grape sustainability and excellence with the use of green manure, organic fertilization, emergency irrigation and cluster thinning, rationalizing the use of natural resources such as soil, water, air and energy. The good practices adopted by Donnafugata in the vineyard (Good Agricultural Practices, GAP) are an indispensable instrument for the production of healthy and perfectly ripe grapes, minimizing environmental impact.
Today the estate is comprised of an historic family cellar in Marsala that dates back to 1851. A 667-acre estate at Contessa Entellina planted to a diverse range of grapes. A third cellar on the volcanic island of Pantelleria, where Donnafugata cultivates 168 acres of Zibibbo vineyards and their newly established fourth estate located in the northern slopes of Mount Etna. The company employs state-of-the-art, sustainable viticulture techniques at all four estates to ensure the produce wines of the highest quality.
