According to the data collected and analyzed by the main industry associations, Italy is confirmed as the world leader in wine production.
“Adverse atmospheric events, first of all the spring frosts, but also the drought in the South and the high temperatures for a prolonged summer period have left their mark”.
Despite these adversities, Italy manages to confirm itself as the first wine producing Country in the world. The production slowdown was less marked (-9%) than in other competing Countries, such as France (-29%) and Spain (-16%). According to the data collected and presented by Assoenologi, Ismea and UIV, in Italy it is estimated that the total production will be around 44.5 million hectoliters.
If on a quantitative level there are numbers with a negative sign, except for Sicily (+9%) and Campania (+5%), the conditions are very good at a qualitative level. “From the first analytical findings, medium-high gradations are highlighted, with some criticalities on the sugar/acidity ratio. Particular attention will be paid to the polyphenolic contents of the red berried grapes, the good aromatic potential of the white berried grapes”.
The first Italian wine producing region with over 10 million hectoliters is Veneto, although it is recording a decline of about 7% in volume. In terms of volume, followed by Puglia with 8.5 million, Emilia Romagna with 6.7 million and Sicily with 3.9 million hectoliters. These four represent over 60% of the Made in Italy wine production.
All in all, wine has achieved excellent results in these years characterized by Covid, thanks above all to the great adaptability of foreign markets that have led to high exports. In the first five months of 2021, the volume of exported wine and musts, in fact, saw a growth of 2.8%, reaching 8.4 million hectoliters. The value of exports in the same period, on the other hand, was around 2.7 billion euros (+11%).
“In the first half of 2021 we recorded positive signals on all the main markets, such as the USA (+18% in value), Canada (+13%), Switzerland (+19%) and Japan (+2%), but we are witnessing strong rebounds also in Russia and China. These are positive data that can help us in transferring at least in part to the market the physiological price increase that wine will suffer due to a smaller quantity of grapes compared to last year and of excellent quality”.
The full article of Il Sole 24 Ore is available here.