Elena, La Reginella (The Queen, literally)

When Elena Cassisi returned to her hometown in Sicily a few years ago, she decided to take her family’s grape-growing business in a new direction. Inspired by her studies in agroecology in Leiden, she started a conversation with her father. The idea of eliminating pesticides, allowing ground cover to grow, and combining different crops sounded completely crazy to him. At the same time, however, he was impressed by his daughter’s energy, determination, and entrepreneurial spirit.

With our clients visiting Elena

Both Elena and her father witnessed their once-renowned grape-growing village enter a downward spiral over the past decade. When her father took over the family farm, La Reginella, from his own father in the 1980s, buyers would travel from all over Europe to Mazzarrone in search of its exceptional grapes. As demand continued to grow, pressure on the land increased, with growers pushing for ever-higher yields. A few decades later, many of the soils are exhausted, dried out, plagued by diseases and fungi, and increasingly vulnerable to the intense rainfall that now causes severe erosion and damage.

Elena

It became clear that a different approach to farming was needed in order to rebuild something sustainable for the long term. Elena and her father agreed that she would be given a small plot of land to test her ideas.

The rest is history. Just ask our customers: these are the best grapes everrrrrrrrrr!

Our cover photo if The Food Hub ever releases an album.