"WINE IS A NATURAL PRODUCT AND CLIMATE DICTATES THE AMOUNT OF GRAPES. THE SKY IS THE VINEYARDS ROOFTOP. WINE IS NOT PRODUCED IN A FACTORY, LIKE STEEL AND THIS IS A CONCEPT THAT OFTEN ESCAPES THE FINANCIAL WORLD”, SAYS ANGELO GAJA

For decades, in the light of exponential economic, social and technological growth, man has thought he could bend the climate to his needs. Instead, as recent difficult grape harvests have shown, change in climate is still dictating change. Angelo Gaja, one of the prominent Italian leaders in wine making, is totally convinced of this and warns against hasty predictions that have been popping up since July, because “we need to at least wait until the end of August, after the harvesting of early maturing varieties has begun, to be fully aware of the losses in weight caused by heat and drought. There is, however, always at least a partial recovery because after the heat of August come September rains”.

But we must never lose sight of a basic concept about winemaking, that “wine”, continues Gaja, “is a natural product, and climatic conditions determine the quantities of grapes - the sky is the roof of the vineyard. Making wine is not like producing steel, glass, bricks or plastic in sheltered factories. This concept often escapes the financial world and those who comment on the results of the wine sector. Some fear that Italian wine is lost, that we are not producing enough to maintain the hard earned export shares”.

Export has allowed the sector to survive better than any other one during this economic and financial crisis, but “in the last six months the run has halted and begun to decline, although there is nothing to worry about because the biggest loss is focused on bulk wine. It is important though to seize the opportunity of a supply shortage and a consequent rise in prices, in order to encourage producers to improve quality and learn how to sell better”.
So, in the end, it all depends on the climate, marketing and cultivating the vines, because something has to change in the vineyards. “Irrigation for designation wines and putting into practice acquired knowledge, which must be rapidly integrated with the research, technology and observation capabilities of vine growers”.