Climate change and new consumers: How Italy’s red vineyards are changing
The “red wine” of the future will be famous.
The key to the future of Italian red wines lies in an intelligent return to the past. Recovery of autochthonous species and traditional viticulture practices, adequately revisited, are leading Italian production to give shape to a new generation of reds, capable of combining genetic characterization and respect for territorial identities, also thanks to an orientation towards the so-called “light oenology”.
The absolute reference is drinkability, the “Pinot noir style”. A totally different approach compared to what has been done for years. With the recovery of native vines at risk of extinction, and the modern revival of oenological practices that aim at more accessible wine styles and perhaps with a contained alcohol content, the aim is to exalt the expressive richness, also in terms of taste, which Italy more than other countries can naturally be the bearer.
Among territories and vines scattered throughout the country, a new generation of red wines is advancing quietly and seem capable of conquering international taste, probably precisely by relying on a varietal richness that only Italy can boast, so as to open a new season type growth.
In fact, the labels of the premium ranges upwards do not suffer from the slowdown, while some great Italian red wines/vine varieties are struggling, stronger in the medium range of the market, with styles that are no longer current today.
The testimonies that we present in this survey also highlight how the current path is made up of choices, whether they are productive or market-oriented, on which climate change has a very profound effect.
The global warming we are witnessing is in fact a problem in the vineyard and in the cellar, but consumption habits are also changing, with increasingly long periods of mild temperatures in which, normally, one does not think of consuming red wine in large quantities.
We need to study and experiment with the entry of new vines or the recovery of some native ones obviously. But, as the agronomists interviewed underline, a new approach is also needed in the vineyard to review training methods and pruning. The point on which all agronomists and oenologists agree is the revision of the ampelographic platform starting from the basics, i.e. rootstocks and clones. In this sense, the testimonies of oenologists highlight how in various territories there is a progressive desire to go back, to make wines that are ready, but still able to age.
THOUGHTS AND ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST AND ONLY ITALIAN MASTER OF WINE
Gabriele Gorelli: the new “must” for red wines is “drinkability”

A conscious return to the past is needed to wisely guide the work of red wine producers towards a future marked by drinkability. Gabriele Gorelli recalls how to identify new trends it is essential to look back, and understand where we come from and what has happened in the last twenty years, in which we have aimed to produce reds that tried to be persuasive and impactful from the first sip, to the detriment of what has become today’s key word: drinkability.
The market changes, but if you look closely, it is not the consumers who drive the change, it is rather trends stimulated by those who direct consumption: the world of wine is pyramidal, and in this sense it has the ability to expand its base of consumers from top to bottom, from a limited niche to a wider audience. And it is from this niche that already a year ago the need to make wines with less extract and less concentrates emerged, in favor of more crunchy and fine products, capable of giving a more transparent reading of a variety or a terroir. Today everything goes in a specific direction, namely that of producing drinkable wines, arriving on the market ready and maintaining the ability to evolve and age.
At the center of everything is the interaction between grape variety and territory, with some novelties on the world scene. In large territories, starting from Bordeaux, there is a progressive desire to go back and make ready-to-eat wines, to be drunk with satisfaction without waiting too long. In Italy it is more correct to speak of classic territories that have found their way back. A striking example is that of Valpolicella, with Valpolicella Classico returning to being a delicate wine, rightly herbaceous, and with a characteristic that distinguishes Corvina and Rondinella: enveloping tannins.

Chianti Classico, which boasts the most modern disciplinary in Italy, allows us to read a beautiful and multifaceted territory in a very transparent way such as Piedmont, with the Langhe, which have now been redirected to Nebbiolo, a fundamental key to understanding the territory. Nebbiolo which, also thanks to the effects of climate change, is the key to the success of Valtellina, where it is possible to produce light reds, but in any case deep and above all distinctive, which is then the real communicative need of today’s world of wine, that is to be oneself themselves in a definite and clear way, but also shared by producers and the market.
Moving our gaze to Southern Italy, I believe that in Puglia we will have less and less Primitivo but more and more distinctive and peculiar varieties, such as Negroamaro and Susumaniello, more fragrant and varietal, for more defined wines and less weighed down by any withering.
The new generations of international consumers, especially the Americans, increasingly see us as the country of sparkling wines, which today represent 30% of our exports. And yet, Italy, seen by the French, is a credible alternative to those great French reds, a clear sign of the high quality level achieved by our producers.
THE ANALYSIS OF EXPORTS BY PRICE POINT BY THE UIV-VINITALY WINE OBSERVATORY
There is a positive evolution in terms of price ranges: in 2022 almost 60% of the values were generated by wines above 6 euros against 34% in 2010, with a 200% growth.
A distinctive trait of 2022 for Italian wine exports is certainly given by the different pace recorded by the various products.
By breaking down the total still wines into reds and whites, it is the latter that confirm a more solid picture, with growth in value and volume.
Even in a context in which the volumes of Italian red wine exports are declining, the qualitative analysis of our offer highlights a positive evolution in terms of price ranges: just over ten years ago, over 40% of red sold abroad, it had a basic price positioning (below 3 euros per litre), while around 15% remained for the higher price ranges (above 6 euros). Last year – it favored the acceleration of a premiumization phenomenon – wines over 6 euros reached 41%, while on the contrary basic wines fell below 20%.
In monetary terms, the 6-8.99 range (with an average price of 7.0 euros per litre) is currently worth around 1.3 billion euros and the range above 9 euros (with an average price of 10.63) another 600 million. Since 2010, the cumulative growth of the two bands with the highest added value has been 200%. This trend of valorization of red productions has been favored by some markets in particular: the USA, with a share of the value of wines > 6 euros of 72% of the total red wines purchased, Canada, Switzerland, France and Korea South. The USA with over 480 million euros generates a quarter of the value of Italian exports of wines over 6 euros.
The top ten markets account for 26% of the total exports in this category. For premium wines priced above 9 euros, the markets with the highest penetration index are still the USA (22% of total red wine purchased from Italy, equivalent to 141 million euros), Switzerland, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and Sweden. The challenge will be to grow the markets that are currently positioned halfway.
TECHNICIANS SEEM TO AGREE ON THE NEED FOR A RECOVERY OF PAST PRACTICES TO BE REINTERPRETED
Drinkability and terroir, the keys to the red wine in the future – by GIULIO SOMMA

Nicolò D’Afflitto, Alberto Antonini, Valentino Ciarla and Alessandro Cellai – highly experienced oenologists, some with consultancy throughout Italy and even abroad – do not seem to be concerned about the growth possibilities of our red wines. The tools to respond to climate change and new market demands would in fact already be present in the DNA of Italian wine production…
From the revaluation of cement to the use of small portions of white grapes, Italian winemakers seem to agree on the need to take up and reinterpret techniques from the past to create the style of red wines of the future. A process that is actually already underway, especially for those who have been pursuing a goal that summarizes these practices for some time, that is the creation of local wines, products with identity and capable of communicating their roots in the glass.
This is the key most used by technicians to explain a return to origins, after some youthful sin or a partly suffered and partly desired “colonization”, which can be summarized in the concept of subtraction. A choice that arrived after years of concentration and richness: whether it was a matter of structure or alcohol, residual sugar or the presence of wood, for decades the quality of a wine (especially red) seemed to have to depend on its “weight”. The paradigm for the red wines of the future has instead been completely reversed, freshness and drinkability is what consumers are asking for. A result made more difficult by global warming which tends to speed up ripening.
But the identification of the vines with the most “field experience” of a given territory, perhaps those once abandoned because they were too productive (and today instead capable of maintaining a better balance), also leads to reviewing breeding techniques, choice of clones and of rootstocks. A topic that from a strictly technical point of view concerns more agronomists, however it becomes of fundamental importance for oenologists when they find themselves designing or managing a wine that can respond to the needs of the company and the market.
According to Frescobaldi’s historic oenologist, there are spaces for making wines that are more suitable for the market, but they are not those of the historic denominations. To combat climate change, more work must be done in the vineyard than in the cellar. Making local wines is not only the ultimate goal, but it is also sufficient to face the difficulties. As has always happened, the market changes continuously, guided by the needs and tastes of consumers. A fickleness to which the world of wine is certainly not immune. In the mid-nineties of the last century there was a tendency to produce wines that pleased international and national critics: the more structured they were, the higher the scores were. A sin of youth, which has led many of us to make highly alcoholic and powerful wines, with very low production and abuse of the barrique, making the wines very similar to each other in every part of the world, blowing up the goal essential for producing local wines.
Today the trend is practically the opposite, with a preference for more balanced wines linked to the real and authentic expressions of the various areas. However, the past always teaches us something, first of all not to distort the historical denominations, because “when it comes to wines like Chianti Classico, the right key is the territory.

For us, Chianti Classico is Gaiole, with its imprinting, which guides us in every step, from the choice of the rootstock to the clone, from the planting system to the management of the vineyards, without chasing after commercial aims, which in important wines cannot be subjected to value of the territory, to which every aspect of the processing must look: it is no coincidence that in the Chianti Classico Sangiovese will soon represent 95% of the vineyard, and all the cellar choices, from the duration of the vinifications to the frequency of pumping over to the subsequent decantings, are aimed at the search for the best expression of the territory.
A wine intended for daily consumption does not make sense if it is very structured or reaches high alcohol content, it is instead more important that it has its own stylistic coherence, because the consumer perceives every change as a negativity.
Young people have different access doors to the consumption of wine: once it was Novello, which almost no longer exists, and today that role is covered by rosés and Prosecco. Rosé has represented a real boom: innovations must be supported, with wines designed for a different type of consumer: those who drink Brunello are not the same person who drinks rosé, but those who start with rosé may continue with Chianti Classico and then right with the Brunello. It is a path, and we must always keep the doors open to the new generations.
ALBERTO ANTONINI

Alberto Antonini speaks of “back to the future”, included by Decanter among the top five winemakers in the world in 2015 and, also, producer in Argentina.
A wine can be very drinkable but also complex and elegant. Unfortunately we come from an era in which the quality of wines was weighed. Color, density, concentration, everything had to be in abundance, concepts fortunately now outdated almost everywhere. As far as I’m concerned, drinkability must be at the center of quality. A goal, that of lightness, which however has to deal with climate change. We need to rethink some concepts related to varieties. When you “force” a vine to grow in an area that is not suitable for it just because you think it performs better on the market, you are actually creating a weak subject. While today, with the difficulties due to an increasingly unpredictable climate, there is a need for balanced, trained and strong subjects.
The world of global wine has been under the Bordeaux ‘colonization’ for decades, a logical and non-negative effect of an indisputable leadership, they wanted to emulate those who did better and it helped a lot, even in Italy. At that time it was difficult to bring our Chiantis, our Barberas, our Dolcettos into the world… but today it is possible. We are in a beautiful moment for wine, in which our regional variety or the infinite varietal heritage available could make the difference.
An evolution that also concerns the relationship with consumers: my parents always drank the same wines at the table, my generation was divided between those who chose wine out of curiosity and those who followed in their parents’ footsteps. If we look at our children it is evident that the concept of wine as an obligatory accompaniment to meals no longer exists. They drink wine to have an experience and, therefore, the last thing they want is repetitiveness. They love to discover, they have a curiosity and they are not faithful to the product.
This gives a great opportunity to those who make wine, we can offer the diversity that is given to us by mother nature. A complex phenomenon, which however also has practical implications, always with a view to a return to techniques and choices from the past.
On an oenological level, Antonini reiterates that for some time we have been recovering barrels instead of barriques, which are excellent, but which do not necessarily work always and everywhere. Finally, precisely for the search for greater freshness, for about twenty years I have resumed using the technique of pressing the whole bunch for the varieties that I define as ‘sweet’, i.e. Grenache, Pinot Noir, Malbec and Syrah. With climate change, however, I realized that in recent years this technique could also be used for more tannic vines, from Sangiovese to Cabernet Franc or Tempranillo. The whole bunch helps to introduce freshness in two different ways: from the stalk we get the balsamic, vegetable and mentholated notes, while from the whole grape, thanks to minimal intracellular fermentation, we get a greater fragrance, an element much appreciated by today’s consumers.
VALENTINO CIARLA

From Southern to Northern Italy, the experience of the oenologist, originally from Lazio but Tuscan by adoption, recounts red wines that are the result of an ancient knowledge that has been set aside for too long. Respect for the vineyard and the raw material, preferring historical grapes and avoiding shortcuts linked only to the market.
The answer to contemporary challenges comes from the past, from that knowledge set aside for too long to pursue the fickleness of an international palate which, today, demands exactly what has always been part of our winemaking tradition.
Furthermore, lately we have been returning to considering more vigorous rootstocks, capable of responding to increasingly arid and drier summers which, in the nineties of the last century, following the fashion for hyper-structured, dense and alcoholic wines, we had considered obsolete.
If in Tuscany the formula is that of ancient knowledge, in an even more challenging territory, such as Valpolicella, the way to produce more elegant red wines is to enhance and exalt Corvina and Corvinone, very modern grapes, which give us acidity and freshness, bursts of color, from which to produce extremely drinkable and enjoyable Valpolicellas.
There is no need to invent anything new, but to look back, and in this sense peasant culture is a resource in every area of Italy, because wine has always been a consumer good. And now is the right time to reflect and find a path of greater balance, our path.
Hundreds of kilometers away, in Puglia, a region with enological potential as varied as it is enormous, we are working in the vineyard to enhance the fruit of the Primitivo and the spiciness of the Negroamaro, enhancing the freshness and drinkability, avoiding excess alcohol and softness, a road that I’m sure will find more and more feedback from the public.
We must have respect for what characterizes our territories in the awareness that solutions, like changes, come from the vineyard. True innovation comes from knowledge and attention, from doing seemingly simple things well.
Technology, especially in quality productions, must only be a form of aid in controlling what happens in the cellar. In fact everything is very simple, but no less complicated for this: the fulcrum is the valorisation of the territory, which often passes through very specific varieties, historically cultivated because they are capable of adapting. The real revolution is to go back to walking the vineyard, to get to know every meter of it, treat it well, taste the grapes. It is from here that the enhancement of an area passes, always remembering that wine is a luxury good and the value of a bottle also and above all depends on the territory and its history. And how we know how to tell them.
ALESSANDRO CELLAI

“THE IMPORTANT IS TO CREATE THE PERFECT SYNERGY BETWEEN VINE AND TERRITORY”. The time to conquer the markets with the vine/terroir equation, the backbone of the uniqueness and richness of Italy’s wine, seems to be ripe by now, as Alessandro Cellai tells us, today the wine guide of Vallepicciola, in the Chianti Classico, at the peak of a career that began in Rocca delle Macìe at university – a period in which a deep bond of friendship with the legendary Giacomo Tachis was born – and exploded in the Castellare Group, “At the end of the nineties of the last century, in emerging markets like Russia and China it was very difficult to explain what Chianti Classico was and what the relationship was with Sangiovese, the culture of wine was lacking”, recalls Cellai.
When approaching a new market, we must always deal with the expectations and requests, including stylistic ones, of those we are dealing with, without distorting our work. In this sense, the world markets are focusing on the vine/terroir correspondence, maniacally looking for those expressions capable of characterizing its history, such as Sangiovese in Chianti Classico precisely”. However, a story that needs to be protected, reconnecting with techniques and traditions that sometimes risk being lost, especially in the cellar.
In terms of technological innovation, we have returned to something well rooted in the past which, thanks to Tachis’ teachings, I have never abandoned: concrete, the central element of work in the cellar. Obviously, everything starts from the vineyard, but the management of the vinification and aging in cement gives the wine an impeccable aptitude for polyphenolic polymerization. It is not an innovation, because cement is one of the oldest winemaking tools in the world, but it is certainly a novelty in modern oenology, after decades of neglect.
At Vallepicciola we decided to intervene on the fermentation temperatures, especially on the Sangiovese produced from the older vineyards, trying to keep them lower than the norm, lengthening the fermentation process and preserving the aromatic profile. Thus we arrive at a wine that is the expression of a great vine and of a territory characterized by Alberese and Galestro, therefore inclined to the production of wines of structure and concentration but also of freshness and drinkability, thanks to an altitude of 480 meters.
This is how Vallepicciola Rosso was born, from the Grandi Cru line, a 100% Sangiovese capable of satisfying the objective “of creating a perfect synergy between the territory and the grape variety, which is exactly what the markets are looking for, as demonstrated by the reactions to this latest production of ours which, in a certain sense, traces the DNA of our territory, achieving both production and market objectives. Emerging countries, such as the Asian ones, have approached this production with great enthusiasm, and we have left nothing to chance, including the packaging”, concludes the Tuscan winemaker.