230 million bottles of Italian spumante will be uncorked all over the world for the Christmas holidays and above all to toast the arrival of the new year. This is what Coldiretti estimates in underlining that it is a historical record for Made in Italy sparkling wine abroad where there is a 21% leap in exported bottles, based on Istat data in the first nine months of 2016 on foreign trade where almost 3 bottles of sparkling wine out of the 4 produced are now drunk. “A year comes to a close – commented Antonio Rallo, president of the Wine Observatory – which has seen Italian bubbles driven by Prosecco achieve an important sales record on the domestic market and in exports. Our sparkling wines are conquering new consumers, stimulating innovative and modern ways and occasions of consumption, proving to be an excellent forerunner for other quality wines of our country. A family, that of Italian sparkling wines, with a world record for biodiversity and organoleptic richness with 153 DOC, 18 DOCG, 17 IGT types as well as several dozen other authorized, generic and quality varietals. Unique heritage of excellence and tradition”.
A global success that has surprised even the most favorable forecasts to the point that a parallel market of made in Italy counterfeits is now also raging on all continents starting from Europe where bottles of Kressecco and Meer-Secco produced in Germany are on sale clearly recall the local Prosecco which is even sold on tap in English pubs.
And in Italy how much will people drink in total?. The estimate is that around 60 million corks of Made in Italy sparkling wine will go missing, with consumption increasing by 9%.
Analyzing our exports of sparkling wines in the world in particular, an increase in demand of 30% in Great Britain and 22% in the United States emerges, which rank respectively as the first and second market for Italian sparkling wines, which remain stable in Germany which ranks third.
In the ranking of the favorite Italian bubbles in the world there are among others - underlines a note from Coldiretti - Prosecco, Asti and Franciacorta which now challenge the prestigious French Champagne on an equal footing. The most significant result of 2016 is precisely the 72% increase in Made in Italy bubbles shipped to France.
In conclusion, it should be remembered that in 2016 the exports of Italian sparkling wines reduced the gap with those of France, recording a growth in value of more than 25% against a slight decline (-1%) of sparkling wines from beyond the Alps. For the record In Italy, wine and sparkling wine generate almost 9,5 billion in turnover, employing around 1,25 million people in various capacities.
