Important recognitions for Ben Ryè 2006 and Mille e una Notte 2004, fruit of the great Sicilian native varieties Zibibbo and Nero d’Avola and for a production strategy centered on the excellence and special character of the territory.

Marsala: October 12, 2007 – The wines that succeed in obtaining in the same year the highest recognitions from the most important guidebooks in the sector in Italy can be counted on the fingers of one hand. But Donnafugata has defied the odds with its Ben Ryé 2006, the Passito di Pantelleria that has become, year after year, an emblem of the enological excellence reached on the island. An important result that crowns the recuperation carried out in the Pantelleria vineyards by the Sicilian estate in a context of “heroic viticulture.”

For the guidebook Vini d’Italia 2008 of Gambero Rosso and Slow Food, Ben Ryé 2006 is the Sweet Wine of the Year and, therefore, the best “Tre Bicchieri” in this category. To those extremely fine results can be added the Tre Bicchieri obtained by the Mille e una Notte 2004, the estate’s flagship red, which won that recognition for the fourth straight year. The award ceremony will be held at the Teatro Olimpico in Rome on October 28.

The wine guidebook I Vini di Veronelli 2008 assigned its top award to Ben Ryé 2006 and Mille e una Notte 2004. The award is the Super Tre Stelle Blu and the guidebook will be presented to the public and press on October 30 at the Teatro Angelicum in Milan.

Duemilavini, the guidebook of BIBENDA and the Italian Sommeliers Association, conferred its “5 Grappoli” (Five Clusters) award once again on Ben Ryé 2006. That helped make this Passito of Donnafugata one of the most highly rated wines of the year. The gala for the presentation of the award will be held on November 3 at San Patrignano.

Vini Buoni d’Italia, the guidebook published by the Touring Club Italiano, has chosen Ben Ryé 2006 for its Crown award, while an honorable mention was conferred on Mille e una Notte 2004. The awards presentation will be staged on October 26 at the Lingotto in Turin on the occasion of the “Salone del Vino”.

Luca Maroni’s Guida dei Vini Italiani” ranked Ben Ryé 2006 among the three finest sweet wines in Italy. The award will be presented in Rome on the occasion of the third edition of “Sensofwine,” which will be held on November 29 in the auditorium of the Parco della Musica in Rome.

The Guida ai Migliori Vini d’Italia of Ian D’Agata and Massimo Claudio Comparini has inserted Ben Ryé 2006 among the Top 100 Italian Wines. The award ceremony is scheduled on November 10 at the Teatro Puccini in Merano.

“The Donnafugata production project is built up vintage after vintage, whether in the vineyard or the winery,” explained Antonio Rallo, who is in charge of the technical staff of the Sicilian wine estate. “Behind each wine there is a profound rapport between man and earth. Just as there is commitment and passion. On an island of volcanic origin like Pantelleria, viticulture has something heroic and extraordinary about it. Small patches of land cling to the sides of the mountains. There are low dry-stone walls and terraces as well as Zibibbo vineyards, planted in <shell-like indentations> as if to cling to the earth to resist the pounding of the wind. It’s here that Ben Ryé is produced from a terroir with a unique mixture of soils and an enological interpretation aiming to the elegance. The situation of Mille e una Notte deserves an other consideration. It was established on the hills around Contessa Entellina and the vineyards are the result of estate selections aimed at valorizing Nero d’Avola grapes, which had yielded the best results qualitatively. The Mille e una Notte 2004 is complex and elegant and can continue to develop positively for an extended period, and I hope it will be a testimonial to the terroir and the excellence of the vintage.”

Baldo M. Palermo [email protected]  phone +39 0923 724226

Laura Ellwanger: [email protected] phone. +39 0923 724258

Nando Calaciura [email protected]  mob. +39 338 3229837