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Issue 691 - July 22nd - 26th 2024 - Expressly created for 4819 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | That Italy’s wine and food offerings are one of the biggest attractors of tourism in Italy is confirmed by dozens of studies and researches. And some even venture to say that wine and cuisine count more than the Uffizi Galleries or Piazza della Signoria, and the Colosseum or St. Peter’s, in the criteria for choosing a vacation. The fact is that Florence and Rome are the two best cities in the world in terms of offering wine-related experiences and tours. So, at least, decreed the ranking of “Capitals of culture with the most tasting tours” compiled by the portal italki.com, a foreign language learning platform. | |
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| | From January to April 2024, exports of Italian sparkling wine, globally, are close to 684 million euros (+11.2% in value over the same period in 2024) and 160.6 million liters (+14.3% in volume over the first four months of 2023) - mainly thanks to Prosecco (+11.2%), which, with 519 million euros, covers one-fifth of Italian wine imports worldwide - demonstrating how Italian sparkling wines are an increasingly decisive driver for the sector and with imports growing, looking at percentages, compared to other types. Overall, Italian wine exports, globally (+7% in value and +5.8% in volume over the first four months of 2023), exceeded 2.5 billion euros and thus sparkling wine takes over a quarter of the total (27%) in value and over 23% in volume. And almost all of Italy’s main partners are growing in sparkling wine exports, according to Istat data analyzed by WineNews. Beginning with the United States, the country of reference, with 170.2 million euros in value (+3.9%), ahead of the United Kingdom (109.3 million euros, +14.4%) and Russia, which, in a sensational “leap” forward, comes in at 48.7 million euros (+120.7%), bypassing Germany, which comes in at 46.4 million euros (+5.2%). In fifth position is France, home of Champagne, which imported Italian sparkling wines for 37.8 million euros (+6.4%), and, curiously enough, the same percentage, but in negative, made it for the overall figure on Italian wine imports. Well Switzerland (+7.3% to 21.9 million euros), another country that had a negative figure on total imports, excellent Austria at 18.8 million euros in the first four months of 2024 (+21.2%), but also Canada, close to 15.8 million euros (+16.9%). Down goes Sweden (-6.8%), which drops to 16.4 million euros, while there are good signs from Japan (+3.7%), which records 11.3 million euros of sparkling wine imports. Going into double digits in value growth is the Netherlands (+11.2%), which exceeds 7.6 million euros. The sour notes, Japan aside, come from Asia with China, which reports a heavy -15.8%, stopping at 3.1 million euros (in more detail). | |
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| | In the South the drought, with warm weather that has at least “nipped in the bud the risk of downy mildew, which last year cost as much as 11 million hectoliters less”, with grapes, to date, of “excellent quality”, while there is hope for some rain. In the North, however, the unknowns are related to bad weather, “with cloudbursts and hailstorms hitting the vineyards”, and where more and more care will be needed to choose the right time to harvest. This is the snapshot of the current state of “Italian Vineyard” according to Coldiretti, in the start-up stages, in Sicily, of a 2024 grape harvest that is probably the one with the greatest unknowns in recent years, and not only because of the strong anticipation of the start-up that “will spread ᴀ operations over four months, a practically unique case in Europe and linked to the great biodiversity that characterizes Italy” (in more detail). | |
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| | | As anticipated by WineNews, in recent days, the Veronesi family has officially acquired Villa Bucci, one of the most renowned and historic realities in the world of wine in Italy and abroad, founded by Ampelio Bucci. “For us, it will be an honor and a great commitment to carry on what Ampelio Bucci has managed to build to date. Although “native” from a different sector, we have espoused the desire to promote and invest in a serious and important way in the Italian wine world that certainly needs novelty and a lot of energy. In this project, which includes a series of other wineries in a context of excellence, Villa Bucci represents a jewel that we will be careful to make shine, more and more”, explains Federico Veronesi, who, to WineNews, adds, “it will be a path in continuity, at the production level we will not change things, while with our consumer know-how we will work to enhance and tell even more the story of a reality like Villa Bucci that has brought to the highest levels a grape variety like Verdicchio and a region like Marche, too often undervalued”. Ampelio Bucci will remain in the company, in fact, as an external adviser, and, together with him, all the historic staff that will support the new management also remains. | |
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| | | Combining the appeal of great Italian wine with the absolute prestige of top motor brands is one of the most successful formulas when looking at the luxury segment. As it happens with Dievole, among the most beautiful Chianti Classico estates of the Abfv - Alejandro Bulgheroni Family Vineyards group, and Lamborghini. The first act of this 2-year partnership will be the presence in Dievole Wine Resort in Castelnuovo Berardenga of a Lamborghini Urus, which, until July 28, will be the vehicle reserved for a limited number of guests and hosts for a tour of Chianti Classico. | |
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| | The global bulk market presents a “quiet” trend, but with some concerns for the future. The Ciatti Company’s “Global Market Report” (July 2024), analyzed by WineNews, takes a snapshot of the sector, where, among the most active, market-wise, are Chile and Spain. The supply of generic white wine is more limited, but the product is the most in demand (with varietal whites). The report points out that the current vineyard situation suggests that yields in California, France and Spain will remain in line with their averages, the only exception being Italy due to a complicated climatic situation with too much rain in the North, which increases the risk of disease, and scant rainfall in the South, where heat waves have been extreme (in more detail). | |
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| | A recent investigation conducted by the Edmund Mach Foundation (Fem), a scientific research excellence in viticulture and enology based in San Michele all’Adige, has identified in Trentodoc white and sparkling wines a new, hitherto unexplored class of natural compounds that may help modulate the flavor of the wines themselves. The results of this study were presented in Davis, California, at the No. 13 edition of the “In Vino Analytica Scientia” 2024 conference (in more detail). | |
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