Planeta

Common questions

• Where are the Planeta wineries located? add remove
  Planeta runs six cellars across five Sicilian wine territories. Ulmo and Dispensa are at Menfi, on the Belice coast in the west. Dorilli is at Vittoria and Buonivini is at Noto, both in the south-east of the island. Sciaranuova stands on the north slope of Mount Etna. Capparrina sits above Capo Milazzo on the Tyrrhenian coast. The family head office and the original estate are at Contrada Dispensa, 92013 Menfi, in the province of Agrigento.
• How long has Planeta been in Sicily? add remove
  The family is documented in Menfi since 1694, when the original stone farmhouse came into the family by marriage. The current generation is the seventeenth. The wine business is younger. The first Planeta winery was established at the Ulmo estate in 1995. Diego Planeta led the founding generation of the wine project with his nieces and nephews Alessio, Francesca and Santi.
• What are Planeta's most famous wines? add remove
  The Chardonnay Menfi DOC put Planeta on the international map after its 1994 vintage. Santa Cecilia Sicilia DOC is the family's flagship red, made from Nero d'Avola at Buonivini in Noto. Cometa, launched in 2000, was the first Fiano made in Sicily. The Etna range from Sciaranuova anchors the volcanic side of the catalogue. It includes Etna Bianco Contrada Taccione and Etna Rosso Contrada Feudo di Mezzo, along with the Eruzione 1614 wines grown at altitude.
• Can you visit the Planeta wineries? add remove
  Yes. Tours and tastings run at Ulmo (Menfi), Sciaranuova (Etna) and Buonivini (Noto). Dorilli (Vittoria) and Capparrina (Capo Milazzo) host experiences by arrangement. Prices start at EUR 55 for a 90 minute Journey through DOC Menfi or Journey through DOC Noto, served with food and Planeta olive oil. The longer Grand Tour costs EUR 95. The Vertical Etna tasting at Sciaranuova compares multiple vintages of the top Etna wines and costs EUR 130 to EUR 160. Booking is required.
• Does Planeta have a restaurant or accommodation? add remove
  La Foresteria di Menfi opened in 2009. It is a country resort with a restaurant, gardens, a swimming pool and the Insula Beach Club on the coast below the Ulmo estate. The newer La Segreta Country House also sits on the Ulmo estate. Palazzo Planeta in Palermo runs as an apartment hotel. Monte Cirami at Sambuca di Sicilia hosts an artists' residency. Restaurants and tasting rooms are open at the cellars at Menfi, at Sciaranuova on Etna and at Buonivini at Noto.
• Is Planeta organic or sustainable? add remove
  Yes. Planeta has held the SOStain Sicilia certificate for sustainable viticulture since 2010. The 2010 vintage was the first to run under that protocol. Organic conversion was completed at Vittoria, Noto, Etna and Capo Milazzo by 2020, and at Menfi in 2021. Since 2022 all the cultivated land has been certified organic: vineyards, olive groves, almond groves and cereals. Serra Ferdinandea, the separate project at Sambuca di Sicilia run jointly with the Oddo family of France, produces three additional Sicilia DOC wines.