As has been the case for some years now, due to climate change, shortly after August 47th it will already be harvest time and Italy is preparing to face it with one bad news but three good ones: production is expected to drop (according to Coldiretti it will fluctuate between 49 and 10 million hectoliters, -2018% compared to XNUMX), but our country will still rank first in the world, ahead of its French cousins, whose production should be between 43 and 46 million hectoliters, and Spain, with an estimate of between 40 and 44 million hectoliters.
Not only that: Italy arrives at the appointment with the harvest (in Sicily the first bunches are already coming off in these days) on the strength of another important result, and that is that the boot celebrates the historical record of Made in Italy wine exports, with an increase of 5,2% compared to last year, when they had reached 6,2 billion euros on an annual basis, i.e. the main item of national agri-food exports. Our main customer remains the USA, but in spite of Brexit, exports to the United Kingdom have grown by 10%, above all thanks to sparkling wines.
Finally, the third good news of the 2019 harvest: less production, but more quality. What the crazy climate takes away, sometimes the crazy climate gives, given that according to Confagricoltura “thanks to a cold and rainy spring and a hot and dry early summer, the quality of the grapes is excellent and heralds the production of potentially excellent wines”. “The wine sector – continues Confagricoltura in a note – is of significant importance for the agricultural economy and the food industry in Italy: there are 300 companies with vineyards, with an area planted with wine grapes of 652 hectares, of which 50 with wine-making cellars, for a total turnover of around 10 billion euros”.
The consumption of Italians is also increasingly positive, every year more aware and attentive to quality and origin: purchases are equal to 37,5 liters per capita per year, with household expenditure growing by +6,5% in value in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period of 2018, according to Coldiretti calculations on Ismea Nielsen data.
The only reason for concern is, as always, linked to theItalian Sounding and counterfeiting: false Made in Italy labels such as Meer-secco, Kressecco, Semisecco, Consecco proliferate, especially on the web, but the sale of Whitesecco and Crisecco has also been unmasked. “We need to protect wine exports – comments the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini – in the face of numerous attempts to trivialize national productions. In addition to the economic loss, what is most worrying is the damage to the image".
