If this message is not displayed correctly click here
|
Issue 519 - April 5th - 9th 2021 - Expressly created for 4.200 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The grip of frost, after the initial warmth of spring, has returned to hit Europe. Endangering the vine, which in many territories is at the beginning of the vegetative phase, with the first buds, the symbol of rebirth after the winter rest. A particularly fragile moment for the plant, which needs to be protected. They know it well in Bourgogne where vignerons are back to light thousands of small fires among vineyards. Like at Domaine Belleville, the Gevrey-Chambertin label. An example followed by many in Italy as well, while in Montalcino the smoke of the hay burnt by winemakers during the night was used to repair the rows of Brunello. |
|
|
|
|
In spite of the many difficulties that still exist, especially in Europe, some positive signs seem to come, at least for some of the most important wine territories. At least if we look at the data regarding bottlings and state bands, collected by WineNews through the Consortia. If these data are not an accurate and faithful litmus test of the market, they do however show a growing trend in the first quarter of 2021, at least in terms of volumes, but with respect to the first quarter of 2020, which is still almost completely “immune” from the pandemic, and in great splendor for some territories. Even if the long closure that is still imposed on a large part of the restaurant industry in the world, penalizes those who are more focused on the horeca, whose restart (already a reality in Asia, slowly recovering in the USA, and still lagging behind in Europe, ed) remains fundamental. In any case, the resulting scenario offers some signs of hope, in view of a more robust restart in the coming months. The “locomotive” Prosecco Doc, for example, continues to run: in the first 3 months of 2021, bottling increased by 7.4% compared to 2020, while Conegliano Valdobbiadene Docg suffered a little, being more focused on the horeca segment (-6%). Double-digit growth in bottling in Valpolicella: +10% for Valpolicella, +12% for Ripasso, +26% for Amarone and Recioto, but also in the Doc delle Venezie, at +11.2%. In Piedmont, on the other hand, in the Langhe, the number of bands for bottles of Barolo increased by 13% and those for Barbaresco by +1%, while the situation in Monferrato was more varied, but positive: while bottling of Barbera d’Asti fell by 6%, those of Piemonte Barbera grew by 13%, and the increase of 151% in the bottling of Nizza was striking (albeit with very small absolute values). In Tuscany, Chianti wine bottling increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2020, while Chianti Classico, with a 22% increase in bottles sold, and Brunello di Montalcino, with a 37% increase in the number of bottles delivered to the wineries, grew in double figures. IGT Toscana also did well, with bottling up 13%. In the Marche region, there was an increase in the bottling (especially in March) of Verdicchio DOC, both from Castelli di Jesi and Matelica (with compulsory state band from September 1, 2020), and Sicily DOC held its own, with bottling up 1%. |
|
|
|
|
Sweden is one of the most interesting small markets for Italian wine, and among the few to have grown in 2020 (+5% compared to 2019, at 189 million euros, Istat data). A market that has held, also thanks to the monopoly managed by Systembolaget. A performance that also finds comfort in sales in restaurants (which in Sweden have never completely closed), where Italian wines, by volume, represent 28% of all uncorked bottles, twice as much as France (14%) and Spain (12%), as told by Wine Analytics data. Which, as usual, analyzed the wine lists of Swedish restaurants: among the production regions with the highest penetration, on the podium there are Rhone (82%), Bordeaux (71%) and Burgundy (71%), tied with Tuscany (71%), then Piedmont (65%), and then Veneto at the position (59%). |
|
|
|
|
|
Groundbreaking stories frequently come from the world of advanced agriculture technology, and wine, in particular. These stories also narrate their capacity to look at the challenges in each era, extracting the best to put them together in a practical, virtuous, ethical and useful way for everyone. We recently wrote about the case history concerning the Arnaldo Caprai winery, under the guidance of Marco Caprai, at the helm of the brand that “created” the Sagrantino di Montefalco district, who began a pathway of collaboration with the charity organization, Caritas, to integrate migrants into the working world. Now, we have news from Bordeaux of a similar initiative that has been put in place by Château Pédesclaux, Grand Cru counting 50 hectares of vineyards in Pauillac, together with Ovale Citoyen, an association that uses rugby and other sports to promote team-building and inclusion, offering seasonal work to people in need, including refugees, in a project called “Drop in the Fields”. “These are projects that connect the first sector, agriculture, and the third (the non-profit world) in a synergy that becomes virtuous, helps companies and helps many people in difficulty to rebuild their lives through work, contributing to the great and fundamental theme of inclusion”, Marco Caprai told WineNews. |
|
|
|
|
|
Seven benches, one for each winery, with a “view” on Oslavia: this is the idea of Ribolla di Oslavia Producers Association, which placed them in the most evocative and panoramic places of the territory, as well as in the most hidden and less known ones among its vineyards. With the seats of Dario Princic, La Castellada, Gravner, Primosic, Fiegl, Radikon and Il Carpino that are now the stages of the “Route Of the Orange Benches” (from the color of Ribolla), a tour to be done on foot and in safety accompanied by a guide, that will start on May 8.
|
|
|
|
|
If there is a type of wine that particularly suffered from the economic situation of the last year, it is sparkling wine. So much so that the drop in consumption, according to the estimates of the “Wine & Spirits Record” signed by Iwsr - International Wine & Spirits Research, stood at -8%. The credit, in percentage terms, according to Iwsr numbers, goes to Prosecco. In total, in 2020, sales of all types of sparkling stopped at 240 million cases (or 2.88 billion bottles). Prosecco Doc left 7% of shipments in the field (with 452 million bottles), Prosecco Docg just 2% (closing at 100 million bottles), Champagne lost as much as 18% (for a total of 245 million bottles), and Cava 14% (stopping at 215.6 million bottles). |
|
|
|
|
The fine wines market continues to march at a fast pace. This is witnessed by the Liv-Ex, the benchmark of the secondary market of the world’s great wines. From the beginning of the year to the end of March 2021, the Liv-Ex Fine Wine 100, the reference index of the platform, has increased by 2.8%. Also growing is the Liv-Ex 1000, the largest of all, which is +2.4%, and which includes the Italy 100, the “superstar” of 2020 (+6.6% on 2019), firmly in positive territory. It grows by +1.1%, in fact, the index dedicated to the labels of Italy. |
|
|
|
|
