2026 harvest: still yield cuts. After Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto, now also Marche and Abruzzo

As the 2026 harvest has already begun in several wine-growing areas across Italy, from Sicily to Oltrepò Pavese, from Franciacorta to Alta Langa, and is about to start in others, such as Trentino for grapes destined for Trentodoc sparkling wines, wineries are receiving the new crop while still struggling to clear stocks of wines from previous vintages. Meanwhile, reports continue to emerge from consortia and denominations working to curb production and align it more closely with actual market demand in order to protect value and profitability. Some are reducing yields, others are resorting to stockpiling, while some believe that more structural rather than temporary measures are needed. And while already at the beginning of July we provided an overview of the measures adopted by denominations and consortia such as Valpolicella, DOC delle Venezie, Barbera d’Asti and Vini del Monferrato, Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani (for Langhe Nebbiolo and Barbera d’Alba, with no yield cuts for Barolo and Barbaresco), Soave and Tuscany (from the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium to the Chianti Classico Consortium, from the Toscana IGT Consortium to the Chianti Consortium, with the regional government having recently approved the various requests we previously reported here), the Marche and Abruzzo regions have also chosen the path of lower production. In particular, Istituto Marchigiano Tutela Vini - the Marche Wine Protection Institute (Imt), headed by Michele Bernetti and Alberto Mazzoni, aims to rebalance production for Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC, the cornerstone of Marche wine production, with annual bottled output of 90,000 hectoliters across 1,900 hectares spanning 25 municipalities. Imt has asked the Marche regional government to extend the yield restrictions to 110 quintals per hectare, instead of the 140 quintals per hectare allowed by the production regulations, and to freeze until June 30th, 2027, up to a maximum of 21 quintals per hectare of grapes produced above the established threshold. “The situation in the sector requires particular attention at both national and regional levels - said Imt president Michele Bernetti - for this reason, we are especially pleased with the sense of responsibility shown by the assembly. The objective is to contain stock levels, which increased significantly following the abundant 2025 harvest, while at the same time promoting sound price dynamics and safeguarding the entire supply chain at every level. We are aware that we have a modern, high-quality wine capable of competing in national and international markets; in this respect, we welcome the recent arrival of new operators in our territory”. According to Imt director Alberto Mazzoni, “Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi represents a significant share of the value generated by our denominations, and several market indicators still show substantial resilience, with bottled volumes +2.7% in the first half of the year and only a limited decline in domestic retail sales. Our work will therefore focus on two levels: first, containment and rebalancing measures, including structural interventions; second, the need to launch a unified and ongoing promotional campaign for Marche wines, to be developed over a period of no less than four years”. The Institute has also invited each of the consortium denominations it oversees (16 in total) “to carefully evaluate, through separate assemblies, the measures required to reduce current stock levels”.
The approach chosen in Marche for Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi is also the one adopted by Consorzio Vini d’Abruzzo, headed by Alessandro Nicodemi, which has already received approval from the Abruzzo regional government. Specifically, the resolution reduces the maximum yield eligible for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC from 150 to 135 quintals per hectare, of which 25 quintals will constitute a harvest reserve and therefore remain blocked until June 30th, 2028. For Pecorino IGT Terre d’Abruzzo/Terre Abruzzesi, the resolution sets a maximum claimable yield for the 2026 harvest at 140 quintals per hectare, while production exceeding that level, between 140.01 and 220 quintals per hectare, will be placed in storage until September 30th, 2027, unless the Consortium requests an extension. In September, a dedicated industry roundtable will also consider a three-year freeze on new vineyard registrations for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and IGT Terre d’Abruzzo/Terre Abruzzesi. These decisions are likewise intended to rebalance supply and demand. As of May 31st, 2026, wineries still held 1,084,336 hectoliters of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC and 240,000 hectoliters of Pecorino of various categories, more than half of which related to IGP Terre d’Abruzzo. “The adopted measures are intended to preserve market balance and prevent a significant fall in prices, particularly for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC - recalled Consorzio Vini d’Abruzzo president Alessandro Nicodemi - which could undermine the profitability of the region wine-producing businesses. In this way, we preserve market equilibrium, protect the value of the work of producers, and strengthen the positioning of Abruzzo wines in national and international markets, preventing excess supply from driving down prices and jeopardizing the results achieved in recent years”.
While yield reductions and the storage of part of the production are among the most widespread measures being adopted, some believe that structural interventions are needed instead, or in addition, as explained by Consorzio Vini della Maremma Toscana, headed by Francesco Mazzei. “At a time when numerous Italian denominations are considering or adopting reductions in production yields as a supply-management tool, the board of directors of the Consorzio Tutela Vini della Maremma Toscana is taking a different position, one based on the specific characteristics of the territory and on actual production data”, explains a note. The Maremma consortium emphasizes that, “in the current market environment, structural measures are more effective, as they can act directly on viticultural potential and accompany the evolution of demand, while also taking into account the changing orientation of markets”. After all, “every territory has deeply different production characteristics, and decisions must be based on the analysis of actual data, not on solutions applied indiscriminately to everyone”, affirms Francesco Mazzei, president of the Consorzio Vini della Maremma Toscana. Furthermore, the Consortium explains, actual grape yields per hectare in Maremma Toscana are already well below the limits established by the production regulations. Therefore, reducing those limits, even significantly on paper, would produce no tangible benefit in terms of market management. “Today, we need tools which address critical issues in a structural way, acting on production potential and accompanying the evolution of international demand. We must plan the future of the denomination with a long-term vision, taking into account changes in consumption patterns, which are increasingly showing stronger demand for white wines than for reds. We need courageous choices based on effectiveness rather than symbolic measures. For this reason - continues Mazzei - we believe it is essential to halt the automatic annual 1% increase in vineyard area permitted through new planting authorizations, a policy which has made Italy the only major European wine-producing country to have increased its vineyard potential in recent years. We can do this, at least for one year, though two years would be preferable. In our view, a direct intervention on vineyard potential is also necessary, involving targeted vineyard removals in less suitable growing areas. However, this must be done without affecting the resources allocated to promotion, investment, and innovation, so as to rebalance supply”.
The position of Consorzio Vini della Maremma Toscana forms part of a highly active and ongoing debate on the issue, one that has also recently been revisited by historian and sociologist Gianni Moriani. The outcome of this discussion in the coming weeks is expected to play a decisive role in shaping the future of Italian wine.