PROSECCO IS THE NUMBER ONE DOC WINE IN ITALY FOR VOLUME AND VALUE. 50 MILLION BOTTLES AND 6% DEMAND PER YEAR INCREASE BUT FRAUD IS GROWING TOO. STARTING IN 2012, STATE SEAL OF SECURITY ON ALL BOTTLES

What is the Prosecco phenomenon all about? Record numbers: 1.500.000 hectoliters and 200 million bottles for the 2011 vintage. It is the number one Doc wine in Italy for volume and value. Fifty million bottles more per year, considering 1.162.000 hectoliters of Prosecco Doc produced for a total of 155 million bottles on the market in 2010. And, above all, an average 6% increase in demand per year, with 40% sold on domestic and 60% on foreign markets such as the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Baltic States, Austria, Germany and Great Britain. The Prosecco Doc Consortium traced this state of art profile of one of the most important Italian Doc wines. Unfortunately, as popularity and success increases, so does counterfeiting; therefore, starting January 1, 2012 a Government seal issued by the State Mint and Polygraphic Institute must be applied to all Prosecco Doc bottles to guarantee product origin.

“The 2011 vintage is 1.500.000 hectoliters and circa 200 million bottles,” explained the President of the Consortium, Fulvio Brunetta, “confirming this denomination is number one in Italy for volume and value. It is a wealth that absolutely must be protected to guarantee production and for consumers who are the key to our success”.

“In 2010,” says Brunetta, “1.162.000 hectoliters of Prosecco Doc were produced for a total of 155 million bottles on the market. The trend, for the future, is a 50 million bottle a year increase in production. “Keep in mind,” continued Brunetta, “there is on average a 6% yearly increase in demand and that 40% of production is destined for domestic consumption while 60% is destined for exports. The main destinations are the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Baltic States, Austria, Germany and Great Britain. These are relevant numbers”, Brunetta concluded, “that confirm the importance of the initiatives our consortium promotes to fight counterfeiting, which damages our industry and all “Made in Italy” products”.

Unfortunately, on the other side of success, there is always the risk of counterfeiting; therefore, starting January 1, 2012 as a security measure, a Government seal issued by the State Mint and Polygraphic Institute must be applied to all Prosecco Doc bottles.
Prosecco and Champagne are also the center of an Interpol and Europol program to fight fraud, together with the Consortiums and the Inspector General of the Italian Forestry Service. According to Laura Marisa La Torre, General Manager of ICQRF (Central Inspectorate for quality protection, fraud prevention and control of food products in organic farming) the fraud phenomenon must be confronted especially on non-EU markets, because it could seriously damage the success of our products in the world.