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Issue 629 - May 15th - 19th 2023 - Expressly created for 4.515 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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Peace is made, in the name of love for the territory and the common good. “The Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Valpolicella (Consortium for the Protection of Valpolicella Wines) and the Famiglie Storiche company announce that they have settled all pending litigation between them concerning the use of the “Amarone della Valpolicella” DOCG. They share the objective of acting, each within their respective areas of competence, for the development of Valpolicella”, states an official note, with “mutual respect, collaboration and dialogue” (in more detail the comments, to WineNews, of the president of the Consortium, Christian Marchesini, and of Famiglie Storiche, Pierangelo Tommasi). |
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Sicily is Italy’s most sought-after tourism destination-in a country that is already the world’s top tourist destination in relation to its size, and is, in particular, among the most desired wine and food destinations-in a segment considered to be transversally attractive to all age groups. In addition, the so-called “high-end” tourism that is taking an interest in the Region, is increasingly demanding immersive experiences, and the world of wine - capable of perfectly combining nature, culture and food and wine - can intercept this interest, offering luxury hospitality, thanks to the ample space and immersion in nature that it can guarantee. And the potential that is already partly ready to be embraced: according to Assovini Sicilia, as explained by its president Laurent Bernard de la Gatinais, in fact, 90% of wineries have a structure used for tasting in the cellar; 32% of these have accommodation with beds and 30% offer a catering proposal. The available services are increasingly curated and diversified, also thanks to partnerships such as the one with the restaurants of “Le Soste di Ulisse”, turning into wine experiences that increasingly interact with the landscape and culture of the places. But is Sicily ready to make this enormous opportunity a driver of 360-degree sustainable progress for the whole territory? The risk of “green washing” and exploitation of resources without positive effects on local communities is always just around the corner, but there is a widespread sensitivity, both on the part of the tourist who arrives and on the part of Sicily that welcomes (also strong from the awareness acquired and flowing into the good practices set by the SOStain Foundation), that makes one look to the future with optimism in this sense. This is at least the feeling, collected by WineNews, in the conference “Sicily: Top Wine, Film, Tourism Destination”, which closed at the Radicepura Botanical Park “Sicilia en Primeur” by Assovini, in recent days, in Taormina, with contributions (in more detail), among others, by Antonio Rallo (Consorzio Doc Sicilia), Alberto Tasca d’Almerita, (president of the SOStain Foundation) and Roberta Garibaldi (president of the Italian Association of Food and Wine Tourism). |
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With just a few days to go before the deadline for submitting comments on the wine and spirits labeling regulations proposed by Ireland at the WTO, which has seen eight countries submit their own comments, which will be studied in depth in June at the table on Technical Barriers to Trade, Federvini and Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv) are ready to send a formal complaint to the European Commission, arguing that the regulations are incompatible with EU law. Taking the line dictated by the Ceev, the Irish rules would conflict with EU regulations on presentation and proper consumer information, and represent a disproportionate and unjustified impediment to the free movement of goods within EU territory. |
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The path of Italian wine on foreign markets is once again quickening the pace of its steps and, after an essentially flat January, exports grew by +3.6% in value to €1.05 billion in February 2023, as revealed by the latest Istat data, analyzed by WineNews. There is also good news on the volume front, with a sharp slowdown in the negative trend in terms of volumes, lower than in the first two months of 2022, but only -0.8%, to 297.6 million liters. Still, on the volume front, sparkling wines lost 4.6% (63.4 million liters), for a turnover up +6.1%, to 276.3 million euros, accounting for 26.3% of all Italian wine exports in the first two months of the year. Looking at individual markets, February 2023 broadly confirms what was seen in January: on the one hand, the U.S. and Germany, the top partners of Italian wine, continue to grow steadily, but slightly less than in January; on the other hand, Canada and Great Britain, after the glories of 2022, are unable to break out of the downward spiral of a difficult start to the year, trying, however, to mend the rift. The North American country recently revised, positively, the growth forecast for its economy, while London has to deal with inflation still in double digits, with food prices touching +20% price hikes. |
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Wine stocks in Italy remain in excess: as already noted as of March 30, 2023, they are also higher by more than 5% on the same period in 2022 as of April 30, with 56.6 million hectoliters of wine in the cellar, more than 52% of which is PDO and 27% PGI. Thus the latest Cantina Italia report, published by the Ministry of Agriculture. A picture that, as already reported in recent days, begins to worry producers, especially in some territories, in view of the harvest. And, with different points of view, people are starting to talk about “crisis distillation”, as in France and Spain. |
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The wine of Valdarno di Sopra Doc has an ancient history, yet it is “contemporary”, as Monica Larner, Italian editor of “The Wine Advocate”, called it. An all in all young, small appellation, and “underestimated”, said Carlo Ferrini, among Italy’s most established wine consultants, but one that has a clear and sharp vision of its future, where 100% of the producers produce organically, which the Consortium, led by Luca Sanjust, has been doing for years, and which rather than on sub-areas and geographical mentions, has chosen to focus on “single vineyards” wines, “a smart choice”, said Jeff Porter, signature for Italy of “The Wine Enthusiast”. Messages, among others (in more detail) arrived on “Valdarno di Sopra Day”, in recent days, at the Ferragamo family’s Borro, an estate that, along with the Moretti family’s Tenuta Sette Ponti, and Luca Sanjust’s Petrolo, has brought luster to an appellation. |
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Duemani, the winery founded in 2000 by Elena Celli and Luca D’Attoma, which has 12 hectares planted with vines on the Tuscan Coast, cultivated biodynamically, and from which 60,000 bottles are made from international varieties, passes 100% into the hands of Tenute del Leone Alato, for between €6 million and €8 million, according to WineNews estimates. For the now-independent wine branch of Genagricola, Italy’s largest agricultural company owned by one of the largest insurance groups, Generali, the acquisition of Duemani would be only the first step in Tuscany. |
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