In Italy, after last year’s “disastrous” harvest, the grape harvest should lead to an 8% increase in wine production, which should be “between 41 and 42 million hectoliters,” Coldiretti announced on Wednesday. However, this remains “well below the average of recent years,” the organization stressed, according to which “bad weather and drought are weighing on the Italian vineyard.”
Italy’s bad patch in 2023 led France to steal its place as the world’s leading wine producer. But since 2007, apart from 2011 and 2014, Italy has always retained its place as the world’s leading producer, according to figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).
Viticulture, above all a women’s affair in China
Winemaker Zhang Jing had already surprised specialists with a vintage that won an award at a prestigious international competition in 2011. An ever-growing generation of women are working to make Chinese wine known.
Italy “divided in two”
According to Coldiretti, Italy finds itself “divided in two”: the north of the country was marked by “intense rains and hailstorms in spring and early summer”, which affected production, while in the centre and south the situation has “slightly improved compared to last year”.
Much of the country, however, has had to deal with drought, particularly in southern Abruzzo, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sardinia and Sicily. In the latter, “the drought and record heat also led to an early harvest, which began in the second half of July,” notes Coldiretti.
