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Issue 644 - August 28th - September 1st 2023 - Expressly created for 4574 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | In such a peculiar year in terms of climate, to really understand how much weather events and diseases in the vineyard will really impact the quantity of grapes in the cellar, must yields and quality, we will necessarily have to wait a little longer. But, in the meantime, the harvest, at least for sparkling wine bases, is getting into full swing especially in northern Italy, from the Piedmont of Asti and Alta Langa to Trentino, passing through the Lombardy of Oltrepò and Franciacorta, to Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli, where they are still waiting for the Glera that will give birth to Prosecco Doc and Docg, as Consortia and wineries tell from their various observatories (in more detail). | |
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| | There have been many harvests with abundant cellar stocks over the years. But the market was pulling, and worries were not too many. This year, however, things are different. Wine, Italian and otherwise, seems to be undergoing a downsizing in consumption that, perhaps, is not just conjunctural, but deeper, and linked not only to a heavy economic picture in all major markets, from Europe to the U.S., which is holding back consumption of all luxury goods, including wine. What's more, Italy is also reckoning not only with cellar numbers as high as ever, but also with uncertain forecasts, between those who speak of sharp declines and those who even speak of production increases over 2022, in a chaotic picture, but also with many “gray areas”, on the data, so it is even more difficult to make realistic production estimates. Especially in a year like this where even the weather, between rains, downy mildew and great heat, with different situations from area to area, makes it even more complex. Also because “maybe many people don’t like what I’m saying, and it will make some people angry, but we always assume a harvest figure, and then when you get to the end there are always those 2, 3, 4 million extra hectoliters that, maybe, come from wineries that are not too accurate in their reporting, or from some table grapes that go from one side to the other. These are things that you can hardly tell, but they are in the eyes of the operators. Just saying them to you in this interview will bring me healthy criticism, but I will be happy to be refuted numbers in hand”. Words from Lamberto Frescobaldi, at the head of one of the most important companies in Italian wine, such as the Frescobaldi Group, but also of Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), the largest “union” of the category, in a chat (in more detail) with WineNews. That starts with a phrase: “there is no shortage of wine, but there is a shortage of market”. “There has been a very sharp slowdown after the post-Cvid euphoria. Accomplice also to the increase in interest rates, the cost that families have for home mortgages, and for anything else they buy, there has been a revision of spending on pleasure, like going out to eat, aperitifs and whatnot, and this has happened everywhere in the world”. | |
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| | Between the 2023 grape harvest and the market, the scenario, for Italian wine, is not flourishing, as WineNews has reported in recent days. And as the Uiv & Vinitaly Observatory now reiterates, between “Cantina Italia” and customs data, in the first half of 2023. Cellar stocks, the observatory recalls, are at 45.5 million hectoliters, 4.5% over 2022, with PDOs at +9.9%. By contrast, in the top 10 non-EU markets, apart from Russia, everything is down, including the U.S., for -9% in volume and -5% in value. “The other market indicator”, adds the Observatory, “is also complicated, with non-European demand reported in the first half of the year in further contraction. Overall, the trend reduction in the first half of 2023 marks -9% in volume and -5% in value, with sparkling wines down 13% and bottled still wines nailed at -5%”. | |
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| | | From Franciacorta Extra Brut Rosé Riserva “Annamaria Clementi” 2013 by Ca’ del Bosco to Barolo Serradenari 2019 by Ratti, from Alto Adige “Praepositus” Sylvaner 2021 by Abbazia di Novacella to Solaia 2019 by Antinori, from Franciacorta Vintage Collection Dosage Zero 2017 by Ca’ del Bosco to Soave Classico “50th Anniversary” Calvarino 2021 by Pieropan, from Amarone della Valpolicella Classico De Buris Riserva 2011 by Tommasi to Stiolorosso by Terrevive, from Lambrusco di Sorbara “Radice” 2021 by Paltrinieri to Barolo “Rocche dell’Annunziata” 2019 by Ratti: here is the first glimpse of “The Best 2023” by “Wine Enthusiast”, or the ten best Italian wines tasted so far according to the U.S. magazine, a reference of world wine critics. There are more than 600 bottles already tasted, from all regions, characterized by a very high average quality, so much so that, according to Danielle Callegari, taster of wines from Tuscany and Southern Italy for “Wine Enthusiast”: “if there is one thing to learn from the huge amount of Italian wine I have tasted in recent months, it is that it is the best ever. It offers the most value for money on the global market right now”. An all-important endorsement from U.S. critics, the first outlet market for our wine. | |
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| | | “The 2023 harvest is inevitably marked by the spring rains and cold weather, which delayed the ripening of the grapes, postponing the harvest by a week compared to last season. We will have less production than 2022, but with an interesting flavor profile”. These are the words of Riccardo Velasco, director of Crea Viticulture and Enology, adding to the carousel of rumors about harvest estimates (with an estimated average drop of -5/10% in the central South and a +5/10% increase in the North). | |
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| | Intercepting customers’ tastes and selecting trendy wines and cocktails on a regional and seasonal level enables the development of strategies that enhance the offerings of venues: these are the trends for next fall-winter, elaborated by the Drink & Food Observatory of Tilby, the cloud cash register of the Zucchetti Group. It is estimated that more than 50% of people in Italy will have consumed wine in 2022, with homogeneous percentages across regions. Among the most popular white wines are Prosecco, which is drunk mostly in Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, and Falanghina. As a rule, however, red wines are preferred to whites in all regions. Among the most popular ones are Chianti, Barolo, Amarone della Valpolicella, and Barbera. What about drinks? Spritz and Negroni are popular throughout the country, but there are also local trends. | |
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| | Despite a thousand difficulties, Italy remains by far the leading market for Italian wine. And the forecast for the coming years, all things considered, looks positive, according to numbers recently released by Statista, one of the largest online statistics portals. According to this, the turnover of the wine market in Italy will touch 20.3 billion euros in 2023. But more importantly, it will grow by 6.3% until 2027, a year in which 75% of total spending, for 32% of the volumes consumed, is expected to be concentrated in the out-of-home, between bars and restaurants. | |
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