Good and less good news comes from the various festive dinners, especially the New Year's one, the most recent in chronological order. While on the one hand never before has made in Italy sparkling wine been chosen as this time (in Italy as abroad) to toast at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, it is also true - and sad - that the quantity of food left over from the tables, and therefore essentially wasted, it has been quantified at half a billion euros.
In detail, according to Coldiretti, only 15% of families have been prudent and declare that they have nothing left over, and only 2% donate leftovers to charity. All the others, at least in words, claim not to throw anything in the bin, reinventing some recycled dishes for the following days, but this is not said to be actually done, especially for shorter-term products. This figure makes us even more sobering considering that Italians spent 2,4 billion euros on the traditional end-of-year meal, 14% more compared to last year.
On the other hand, there was the triumph of Italian food – and above all of beverages. In fact, the number of bottles of Italian sparkling wine uncorked abroad in 560 rose to over 2019 million, with the historic record of made in Italy toasts thanks to the 9% increase over last year. According to Coldiretti's estimate, for 2019 the historical record of exports abroad will be reached for the first time for a value of approximately 1,6 billion, based on forecasts on Istat data. Outside the national borders, the most passionate consumers were the British, in the face of Brexit, while the favorite wines were Prosecco, Asti and Franciacorta, as well as the prized Ferrari, which now challenge the prestigious French Champagne on an equal footing.
