2011 GRAPE HARVEST – OPTIMISTIC FOR BIG RED WINES (PIEDMONT, TUSCANY, VENETO, SICILY), ESPECIALLY SOUTHERN ITALY. QUANTITY IS LOW EVERYWHERE. COMPANIES COMMENT...

The 2011 vintage started early and, except in some cases, is just about over in the “red” production areas. The heat wave that Winenews called a real “blaze” caused a lot of problems mainly in the center-north regions, but many companies were able to deal with the mid-August emergency. Quantities are down everywhere (and in some cases as much as 30% less than 2010). It should be a good year, expressing peak quality especially in the southern regions. These are the crucial last days of September for those who have not yet finished harvesting. The general decline in production could lead to a slight recovery in the prices of raw materials. Here below is WineNews’ summary of the characteristics of the 2011 harvest, from comments of some of the largest Italian producers.
This year’s wines will be concentrated, have a high alcohol content and significant acidity, which means balance and if not elegance, at least some of its qualities. Some white grape varieties, such as Chardonnay, and the fast maturing red grapes are favored, but not the more precocious varieties such as Merlot. Paradoxically, the most suitable areas with poor soils and southern exposure may be the most penalized. This year’s harvest required a lot of work not only in preparation, but also in harvesting-selecting the least heat stressed grape clusters.
Piedmont
Michele Chiarlo, owner of the Piedmont brand, is optimistic and pleasantly surprised at some of the results: “the harvest is much better than expected. Quantity is down by at least 10%, but the quality of the grapes is excellent. The harvest started very early and we plan to finish later this week. It is probably the earliest harvest in Piedmont in the last 15 years, even earlier than the 1997 harvest”. Pio Boffa, head of the Pio Cesare brand is satisfied and defines the 2011 vintage “very nice, characterized by healthy grapes that will give great wines”.
Trentino
“Our grape harvest,” says Fausto Peratoner, director of the La Vis Winery, “lasted exactly one month (from August 23 to September 23) and more or less met our expectations: an early harvest and more concentrated grapes. The quality is very good for whites and sparkling. We’ll have to wait a little longer to give a definitive opinion on the reds. Quantity is down 5% to 7% compared to 2010, all over the Trentino region”.
Veneto
Sandro Boscaini, President of Masi Agricola, says: “the harvest is going well, but it is certainly a bizarre vintage, very early. The results, however, seem to be excellent, even if quantity is down at least 10%”. “The harvest is going well,” explains Stefano Ferrante, manager of the Zonin production, “we have had some problems due to the heat, but the quality is very interesting. Quantities are down and the early harvest means 90% of the grapes are already in the cellar”.
Marilisa Allegrini who leads the Venetian winery, together with her brother Franco, with its beautiful estates in Valpolicella and properties in Montalcino and Bolgheri, is also optimistic: the harvest wasn’t too early for us and so we are still picking grapes. Quantity is down 10% to 15%, but the quality seems to be very promising”.
Tuscany
“There are conflicting reports on the outcome of the 2011 vintage,” explains the President of the Consortium of Brunello di Montalcino, Ezio Rivella, “however, despite the heat wave, there are important elements to work with, especially for the North slope production, where the wines don’t have excessive gradations and acidity is interesting. The situation is somewhat more critical where the heat was more intense. It was a positive year”, concludes Rivella, “for the entire territory”.
“Lower temperatures in the weather have come just when we are harvesting the best selections for Sangiovese,” explains Marco Pallanti, President of the Consorzio del Chianti Classico, “ and this is great. The quality of the grapes is extraordinary and if the weather holds for another two weeks, the harvest could be better than we expected”. “We’re just starting to pick the grapes for the best selections of Nobile,” explains Federico Carletti, President of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. “Of course, we must select the grapes carefully, but hot years have always favored the final quality of the Nobile di Montepulciano. I am optimistic, but this year will certainly not be the vintage of the century”.
“The intense heat made this an untypical vintage,” says Lamberto Frescobaldi, Vice President of the Florentine wine giant, “and the cooler areas like Chianti Rufina and the higher areas of the Chianti Classico have benefited. It is certainly not a favorable year for the early varieties such as Merlot, but Sangiovese looks promising. It will,” continues Frescobaldi “be a harvest of fine tuning, that is, we must work very carefully in the picking stage to bring the best grapes to the cellar. There are bunches of grapes that the heat has concentrated or in the worst case scenario has dried out, so we expect a decline in yields of at least 15% compared to 2010. A pretty small harvest,” Frescobaldi concludes, “but the quality is interesting.”
“The best grapes are still on the vines,” explains Renzo Cotarella, director of the Antinori family, “2011 has been and will be a difficult harvest, “tastier” but “less powerful”, probably closer to the latest “desired” market trends. The current weather conditions are excellent and promise a natural ending harvest”.
We started the harvest on September 8th,” explains Franco Biondi Santi, the “Gentleman of Brunello”, head of the historic estate Greppo in Montalcino, “and now we have some wines that promise high gradation, of course, but also acidic. This year’s harvest highlights the differences between the areas, especially in a territory like Montalcino. The quantity is very low, down even as much as 30%”.
Marche
“The 2011 vintage has been particular,” says Angela Velenosi, who head of the company that bears her name, “the intense heat heavily impacted the quantities which are down 30-40%. It is difficult to give a definitive opinion on the reds at the moment while the whites are better than expected. The harvest was extremely early, we started on August 10, but the quality seems good”.
Michele Bernetti, owner of Umani Ronchi, the company that launched Marche wines, says it was a fast harvest and “we have almost finished. Quantities are way down: 20 to 30% less. The quality seems to be pretty good, but not like the 2003 harvest. The white wines are more concentrated than usual and the reds are fairly good, except for the early varieties that suffered the most. There is a slight recovery of prices of raw materials, due to the scarcity of product”.
Umbria
“We are hoping that the rain will help re-hydrate the grapes in the last days of harvesting. Marco Caprai, owner of the leader company of Sagrantino of Montefalco, explains, “The definite fact is that quantities have decreased by 30-40%. We have not yet harvested the Sagrantino for Cru, but we shall start soon. We expect good quality”.
“Our grapes are now all in the cellar,” explains Vincenzo Pepe, winemaker of the historic Umbrian company Lungarotti, “it was a very fast harvest that was over quickly, almost three weeks ahead of 2010. The intense heat accelerated maturation and lowered quantities by 20-25%. We still have to wait on quality, but it will certainly have many similarities with 2003”.
Abruzzo
“We have not yet begun to harvest the most important grapes,” says Luciana Blonde, agronomist at ValleReale, “even though the intense heat is a factor in our particular microclimate, too. However, the grapes have not suffered and the harvest will be only slightly earlier than 2010. The alcohol content will be higher, but the acidity is not bad, and all in all it is not a bad harvest. Quantities are down as much as 30%”.
Apulia
“It was a great harvest,” explains Piernicola De Castris, head of the family company, “ but quantities are down by 10-15%. We have not yet finished harvesting, even though we started a week earlier than in 2010”.
Sicily
“The harvest is over except for the Etna area,” says Alessio Planeta responsible for the production of the Sicilian brand, “ there is a 15% drop in quantity but the quality is excellent and Nero d’Avola is probably one of the best ever vintages. It is a “Southern” vintage, dry and very satisfying, in which there was no excessive heat. “Alberto Tasca, of the historic company Regalali, is more cautious and explains, “we have not yet finished our harvest, and the only certainty for now is that quantities are down 10-15%”.
“We are very pleased about the quality,” says Diego Cusumano, who heads the family company with his brother Alberto, “quantities however dropped 20% compared to 2010. The analytical data is very good and the intense August heat only accelerated the harvest somewhat”.
“The 2011 harvest was early - we started 10 days before 2010, but the white grapes seem to be,” says Carmelo Bonetta of Baglio del Cristo, an emerging Sicilian company that is already producing great wines, and this year has received a hoard of awards from the wine guides, “at the top, with nice acidity and important structure. We are very satisfied. It is still a bit early to judge the red wines: we have some vats with a high alcohol content, but overall we are quite happy”.

The Donnafugata production, on the Countess Entellina Estate and on the island of Pantelleria, reported quantities were down 10% due to the intense heat. The harvest began,” explains Antonio Rallo, head of the family, with is sister Josè, “on August 10th, and quality predictions are optimistic for white grapes. It is too early to give a reliable estimate on the red whites but it looks like a good harvest”.
Franco Pallini