Italy remains world leader despite the smaller production
UIV – ASSOENOLOGI – ISMEA ESTIMATES DIFFUSED
Little but good, at times excellent, in a market context in strong recovery. National wine production in 2021 drops to 44.5 million hectoliters, a figure that is 9% down on the 49 million hectoliters in 2020 (Agea figure and average of a range that oscillates between a minimum of 43.7 and a maximum of 45.3 million hectoliters), which, despite the contraction caused by the anomalies of an increasingly protagonist weather, does not affect the tricolor production record in a year that sees Spain stopped at around 40 million hectoliters and France penalized by a particularly adverse climatic trend.
According to the harvest forecasts of Assoenologi, Ismea and the Italian Wine Union, the Italian vineyard resists and is in good condition not only at the appointment with the harvest, but also on the crucial front of the restart, with encouraging signs both from foreign demand (2.7 billion euros and + 11% the result of exports in the first 5 months of the year) and on the domestic market, driven by the reopening of the Horeca and the recovery of tourism.
Italy therefore remains world leader, with Spain likely to overtake France for second place. The expected quality is of a good level, with peaks of excellence. The comment on the data entrusted to Ernesto Abbona, president of the Italian Wines Union, Riccardo Cotarella, president of Assoenologi, and Fabio Del Bravo , manager of the Ismea Rural Development Services Department.
Will this be the harvest of the restart? The world of Italian wine is betting yes despite climate changes and a multi-faceted increase in consumption. The words of the year certainly are sustainability and recovery , declined on a declining production due to a climatic storm that from a cold spring, characterized by three important frosts in April, to a hot summer, with waves of 40 degrees centigrade throughout the territory, hit hard the quantitative profile. From a climatic point of view, what we tended to define as “meteorological oddities” are beginning to be more the norm than the exception, so it will be good to deal with their regularity rather than always interpreting them as emergencies. In this sense, the adaptation of the vineyard teaches us that, despite everything, from a qualitative point of view the grapes harvested and those that are reaching ripeness are of a good level, with peaks of excellence.
These are perhaps ideal conditions for transforming the 2021 harvest into a springboard for the restart. On the other hand, it is precisely the ability to adapt, which we are investigating on all aspects of production but also on the market, associated with greater sustainability, equally at 360 degrees, seem to be the most appropriate ways out for the difficult period we have experienced. due to the pandemic for a year and a half now.
Ernesto Abbona, president of the Italian Wine Union, commented: “This, which we could call the harvest of the relaunch, is presented in a positive context that helps us to continue our exciting development on international markets. Signs of strong growth were recorded, in the first half of 2021, in all the main markets, such as the USA (+ 18% value), Canada (+ 13%), Switzerland (+ 19%) and Japan (+ 2%), but we are witnessing strong rebounds also in Russia and China. These are positive data that should spur us to do even more and better also to help us verify on the market the possibility of transferring, at least in part, the physiological price increase that wine will undergo due to a smaller quantity of grapes compared to last year. and of excellent quality. It is therefore necessary to continue with determination, team spirit and “system logic” in promoting the “Italian system” which, we have been saying for some time, is more than ever necessary and complementary to ‘brand’ promotion, with positive effects on the image of the our country and wine tourism “.
2021 harvest forecasts, the numbers.
The problems linked to the ever more changing and unpredictable climatic conditions require a more careful monitoring by the winemakers and oenologists, with particular attention to environmental custody and sustainability, elements now necessary also for adequate recognition by consumers. This is accompanied by the great enthusiasm with which this period is faced every year in order to better enhance future wines, now the first ambassadors of our territories. This production campaign, however, comes at a very important moment for the sector which, after the problems related to the pandemic, can begin to look to the future with more optimism, thanks to the reopening of the Horeca, the resumption of tourism and a good pace of deliveries beyond national borders.
Wanting to make a summary with respect to the various geographical areas of the country, a rather generalized decline can be observed, with very few exceptions, but with different intensity of the reductions. Veneto maintains the record and consolidates the most productive Italian region with almost 11 million hectoliters, followed by Puglia (8.5), Emilia Romagna (6.7) and Sicily (3.9) . These four regions together in 2021 will produce around 26 million hectoliters, or around 60% of all Italian wine.
Expected quality and climatic and vegetative trend .
“The climatic evolution requires more and more careful monitoring by the winemakers and oenologists, with particular attention to the custody and environmental sustainability” commented Riccardo Cotarella, president of Assoenologi. When trying to define a vintage, with respect to the grape harvest, it is necessary to make distinctions both territorial and applied technique. The qualitỳ depends above all on the climatic trend, and therefore on where we are, but a lot also derives from the way of conducting the vineyard through science and knowledge, which are the basis of the activitỳ of us oenologists.
When these are meticulously applied̀ we will have a very good harvest, in some cases excellent and excellent in specific territorial spaces. This, combined with the heterogeneous characteristics of our territory, leads to a situation of very different harvest forecasts, even in neighboring areas. But due to the exceptional ability of the vine to adapt and to the incessant work of winemakers and oenologists, as mentioned, the quality of the grapes appears good, with peaks of excellence, throughout the Italian vineyard.
A demonstration of the good state of health of the wine sector is above all the value of exports, which in five months reached 2.7 billion euros (+ 11%). Dop wines, driven by sparkling wines, took advantage of the greater foreign demand. PGIs are also doing well, while table wines have decreased volumes and a value that has grown less than the sector average. Not to be underestimated, especially with an internal production that promises to be low, is the data relating to imports, which in just five months have already exceeded one million hectoliters, + 87% over the same period of 2020.
