Interview by Gran Via<\/em><\/p>\n\n With quiet elegance and unwavering conviction, Sebastiano Di Bella fully embodies the vision behind ARCA \u2013 the Regional Association for Authentic Catarratto. As a producer, agronomist, and now president of the Association, he leads a project that does not fear international challenges, but begins with a simple principle: to tell the truth of Sicilian wine, without embellishment, with authenticity. In this interview, he reflects on the deeper meaning of Catarratto, the territories that nurture it, and the men and women who grow it with vision and integrity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n President Di Bella, why is Catarratto once again central to Sicily\u2019s wine story?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Because the time is right. For too long, Catarratto was underestimated due to its productivity and a yield-driven approach that sacrificed its qualitative potential. Today, we can see it with new eyes\u2014thanks to agronomic knowledge, technological innovation, and above all, a renewed sense of identity. Catarratto is not a grape to be chased, but listened to. It needs time, precision, and consistency. It is a wine that reflects its landscape, its soil, the wind, and the decisions of those who cultivate it. That\u2019s what makes it unique. With ARCA, we\u2019ve chosen to tell its story in this way: as an authentic, recognizable wine, born of its land.<\/p>\n\n Authenticity and sensory recognizability are two keywords in your project. What do they mean in the case of Catarratto?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n They mean that the wine must speak the language of the vineyard it comes from. Catarratto has a remarkable ability to adapt, but it always retains its signature: natural acidity, freshness, saline tension, clear aromas of citrus, wild herbs, and mineral notes. If handled with respect, it needs no enological \u201ccorrections.\u201d At ARCA, we reject standardization. Every bottle is a direct expression of its terroir. In the cellar we work with skins, with native yeasts, with aging techniques\u2014but always to enhance, never to mask. That\u2019s why we say our Catarratto is recognizable. It\u2019s not generic, but faithful. And whoever tastes it\u2014even thousands of kilometers from Sicily\u2014recognizes it as a true wine.<\/p>\n\n ARCA is also an alliance between territories and people. How do you maintain coherence across such diversity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n In a word: consistency. The six wineries that form ARCA\u2014Bagliesi, Caruso & Minini, Castellucci Miano, Feudo Disisa, Tenute Lombardo, and Di Bella\u2014represent very different areas in terms of altitude, climate, and soil composition. From the Madonie to Nisseno, from Naro to Salemi, from San Giuseppe Jato to Gris\u00ec\u2014each vineyard has its own story. But what unites us is a shared vision: to make wine in an artisanal, sustainable, respectful way. Our Decalogue was created precisely to formalize these values. Growing at altitude, respecting the vine\u2019s natural rhythms, preserving varietal biodiversity, making wine without masks. We are six wineries, but one voice.<\/p>\n\n In today\u2019s global wine context, talking about Sicily also means addressing international markets. What is your challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Our challenge is to take Catarratto beyond regional and national borders\u2014not as a generic wine, but as a wine of real quality. We\u2019re not chasing numbers; we\u2019re seeking recognition. We want sommeliers, journalists, and wine lovers around the world to know that Sicily produces a remarkable Mediterranean white, capable of competing in terms of elegance, personality, and aging potential. We\u2019ve already demonstrated this at Vinitaly and in the tastings led by Master of Wine Pietro Russo: Catarratto can be a great European wine with a Sicilian soul. But to succeed, we must be credible, authentic, and united. That\u2019s what ARCA is for.<\/p>\n\n Is there a message you\u2019d like to share with those supporting ARCA\u2014producers, restaurateurs, communicators, and wine enthusiasts?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Yes. A heartfelt thank you. Without this network of people who believe in our vision, ARCA wouldn\u2019t exist. I thank those who work with passion in the vineyard and cellar, those who share our story with intelligence, those who choose, serve, and recommend our wines. Now more than ever, we need a community that doesn\u2019t settle for \u201ceasy\u201d wine, but seeks to understand, to deepen, to truly know. ARCA is not a brand\u2014it\u2019s a way of being. And each of you, when you choose one of our Catarrattos, becomes part of it. Together, we can create something meaningful\u2014for wine, for Sicily, and for the future.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President of ARCA and long-time producer, Sebastiano Di Bella describes Catarratto as the authentic expression of territory, people, and vision. With calm conviction, he champions a wine that needs no disguise, only coherence. That is the spirit of ARCA: to give voice to a shared agricultural and cultural identity, and to place Catarratto at the heart of Sicily\u2019s and the Mediterranean\u2019s wine narrative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1607,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606\/revisions\/1607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arcasicilia.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}