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Issue 667 - February 5th - 9th 2024 - Expressly created for 4687 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | Out of more than 1.6 billion euros in exports in value of Italian sparkling wines between January and October 2023, 1.3 is related to the Prosecco world, 138 million to Asti, while the other Denominations, all together, are worth just over 81 million euros. A figure that says a lot about how much work can still be done on the value and international propensity of Italy’s great Metodo Classico wines. And also by virtue of a qualitative excellence increasingly recognized by international critics and consumers, Italy’s Metodo Classico sparkling wines, very strong nationally, are trying to conquer foreign markets.
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| | With its success and value, Amarone has made Valpolicella great, making it one of the most prestigious Italian wine territories. But now there are many factors imposing a new change. And if, as explained at “Amarone Opera Prima”, in recent days, by the president of the Consorzio dei Vini della Valpolicella, in the immediate future there are the sub-areas that here will be the valleys into which Valpolicella is divided, and sustainability that is growing, with more than 40% of the vineyards (8. 600 the denomination’s total, now worth 500-600 euros per hectare, and with profitability rising from 5,000 euros per hectare in 1993 to 25,000 today) certified organic or otherwise sustainable, it is a deeper change, of style, positioning, language and “mentality that the production sector must address”. As explained by Andrea Lonardi, Master of Wine and vice president of the Consortium. “Amarone in the past has been a wine that met a market demand. Valpolicella producers were among the best, especially in some markets (in Northern Europe and North America), at understanding that there was a need for a smooth, warm, pleasant wine. This enabled great volumetric success. To do so, however, they overdid it with appassimento and the need to chase a style that this segment of the market demanded. Today that segment is no longer growing, and has become populated with other wines that compete only on price. To suffer such an attack is to be aware that that wine was an easily imitated model: in fact, the method was superior to the terroir. Added to this are three major changes that are affecting the wine scene, not only in Valpolicella: changing consumption, changing climate, and changing style. The most commercially solid wines are fine wines, those that have a deep connection with the territory of origin, wines that have values and a specific communicative wording such as to make them identifiable. To access this segment”, says Lonardi, “it is necessary to think of an Amarone that puts its production factors back into balance: the method (the set-aside), the territory (soil, vines, climate), the people (producers, businesses) and communication. The challenge is, clearly, complex” (in more detail) ... | |
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| | “Italian low-alcohol products are finding a place in the U.S., where, for American consumers, they account for 28% of total purchases of Italian wine products, reaching $651 million in sales in large-scale distribution and retail in 2023. A made-in-Italy production for a made-in-U.S. business, however, points out the Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv), with Italian wineries mostly relegated to production and bottling. The Uiv stresses the “impossibility for the Italian wine industry to access a business, that of non-alcoholic wines, blocked by the laws in force in Italy, but not in Europe”. The association's president, Paolo Castelletti, has launched an appeal to the government to “deal with this issue that can no longer be derogated as a matter of urgency, clearly defining a clear perimeter of action together with the sector”. | |
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| | | Mandatory for Docg, optional for Doc, and now, at the request of the Consortia, or the Regions, also of Igt, the “State bands” are back in the spotlight. In recent days, a decree has arrived from the Ministry that modifies the one from 2020, implementing an aspect that the Consolidated Law on wine has foreseen for quite some time, which, in short, hypothesized a “telematic control and traceability system for Doc and Igt packaged wines”, streamlined, digitally focused, and somehow opening up the State Mint’s monopoly. Today’s decree, in the Official Gazette of January 20, instead introduces the mark printed by the Mint, instead of the so-called alternative system, even for Igt wines (which are one-third of Italian production). In the name of transparency and from traceability. But according to some, this could lead to even more confusion, because at first glance the State bands are not too different. And then, for example, with so many appellations anchored to a single varietal, it could happen that, at the shelf, you find yourself with the Docg wine with the mandatory state band, the Doc wine with the optional one, and maybe even the Igt wine with the variety on the label. With the three types of the quality pyramid, in fact, made a little more homogeneous, at a glance ...
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| | | Pasqua Vini as “Innovator of the Year” (first time for an Italian winery), Alessio Planeta “Winemaker of The Year”, Ca’ del Bosco, a Franciacorta griffe founded by the Zanella family and now majority owned by Santa Margherita, as “European Winery of the Year”, Prestige Wine Imports “Importer of the Year”, under the aegis of the Mezzacorona Group, and Virginia, “Wine Region of the Year”, also thanks to Barboursville, by Zonin1821: Italy protagonist at Wine Enthusiast’s “Wine Star Awards” 2023, in recent days, in Miami. | |
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| | A real “electronic nose”, invented in Italy, that can be used to recognize the freshness of a wine and its origin: scientist Sonia Freddi created it in the laboratories of the Physics Department of the Catholic University of Brescia. The instrument is based on the fact that all foods and beverages emit particular gas molecules, which can indicate whether a product is fresh or spoiled: the “nose” detects these biomarker molecules, thanks to the analysis of volatile components, and can potentially be applied in a variety of fields, such as quality control, freshness and origin of products. A discovery that paves the way for a wide range of tests for quality control. The use of an “electronic nose”, due to the high sensitivity of the sensors, is a technique that is gaining momentum. | |
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| | Farmers have a social role that pursues the common good: the depopulation of inland areas, the abandonment of agricultural activities and the increased risk of hydrogeological instability is a problem that affects everyone, including those who live in the city. This is supported by Fivi (Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers), which is launching the campaign “Winegrowers who are custodians of the territory”, with a signature collection, both through stands in wineries and markets and on change.org, to support and urge the draft law, which is being considered by Parliament. | |
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