THE REAL ESTATE BUBBLE THAT HAD PUT VINEYARD PRICES OVER THE TOP BURST IN 2009. NOW THE WINE TERRITORY MARKET IS STARTING TO GROW AGAIN, ESPECIALLY IN TUSCANY, VENETO AND PIEDMONT. BUT PRICES START AT 1 MILLION EUROS

The real estate bubble that led investors around the world to scour the hills around Asti and Chianti, Maremma and the Treviso area ready to cover the few companies willing to sell vineyards and relative accessories in gold, "burst" at the end of 2009, due to the economic crisis. Four years later, however, trading in the sector has achieved a better balance, and great opportunities to invest in real estate and vineyards have reappeared on the market.
There is a newfound vitality, confirmed by the Research Center of Casa.it (www.casa.it), the most visited real estate portal in Italy. At Vinitaly in Verona, the portal staff analyzed the offer inclusive of land planted with vines, residential and productive accessories (wine cellars and equipment) in the period 2012/2013, revealing an increase of 5.8% per year, including negotiations to purchase, which in 90% of cases start at values equal to or over one million euros. The dream to change one’s life and work purchasing farms and wineries is, therefore, not just within the reach of anyone. To obtain reasonable prospects of return on investments, you need to know how to move carefully and know about the situations of the territories. Also, buying a winery and knowing how to manage it are two very different things, as investors in the mid 90s learned the hard way: they were sure to earn big from wine productions, without having any idea of the difficulties they would encounter.

Focus - "Values in the field” by Casa.it

High rating prices
In Piedmont, in the area of Asti, the value of a hectare of vineyard is stable between 70.000 and 80.000 Euros. In the production areas of Barolo and Barbaresco, the cost is respectively about 230.000 and 350.000, slightly less than 20% decrease compared to 2009. It should be noted that some cru prices of the two DOCG do not exist, because no one sells. Even in the largest vineyard in Lombardy, Oltrepò Pavese, the situation varies quite a bit: within the perimeter of a DOC wine, a hectare of vineyard is now worth between 35.000 and 45.000 euros. There are plots of land that for various reasons are almost double the average prices. The value of the vineyards in South Tyrol has been stable in recent years, ranging between 600.000 and 1 million euros per hectare.
In the Prosecco production area in Treviso, a hectare of vineyard is worth between 110.000 and 200.000 Euros, rising to 300.000/400.000 in the historic Prosecco DOCG. Prices in the Cartizze production area have gone down - in 2009 a hectare was quoted 1.8 million euros, while today if you can find someone who will sell, the listing would be between 1.1 and 1.2 million euros. In Emilia Romagna, a hectare of vineyard for the production of Lambrusco today is even more than 90.000 euros, more than 20% over 2009. In Romagna, which is in the cradle of the Sangiovese DOC, one hectare of vineyard is worth around 40.000 Euros, +14% compared to 2009.
In Tuscany, the prices for Brunello di Montalcino have remained unchanged at about 400.000/500.000 euros per hectare.
Vineyards are more affordable in Southern Italy and the Islands. In Puglia, the vineyards of Castel del Monte DOC are going for around 30.000 euros per hectare. Vineyards in the Trapani area, however, have gone down about 30% from the 2009 prices (50.000 euros a hectare). Throughout Sardinia prices of vineyard have not changed in the last five years, except for those of the Vermentino di Gallura DOCG production, which are now quoted around 80.000 Euros per hectare (+3%).
"Turn key" prices
Looking at the values of the region with the most offers at this time, Tuscany, you can find businesses for sale in Chianti at prices varying between 15 and 20 million euros, whole villages (to be restored) at 9 million euros and companies in the Maremma region for less than 5 million euros. The quotes are similar in Piedmont, of course, in the area of Asti, Langhe and Roero, where turnkey prices never fall below 2.5 / 3 million euros. In Lombardy, especially in the Oltrepo’ Pavese area, prices are much lower, ranging between 1 and 1.5 million euros for the more extensive plots of land. However, there are farmhouses that have a very limited production of local varieties (especially Croatina) at prices between 700.000 and 900.000 Euros.
In Southern Italy, especially in Sicily and Puglia, the "terroir" in the past 15 years has been subject of an attentive policy of redevelopment, along with an effective marketing strategy, that has brought the local wines to excellent levels. While not touching the peaks in Tuscany or Piedmont, starting prices are at least 1 million euros and reach 5/6 million for the larger plots in which there are Bagli, the fortified Sicilian farmhouses or splendid antique farms

“Determining the real value of a vineyard for investment purposes”, says Daniele Mancini, CEO of www.casa.it, “is a complex operation, where not only agronomic variables, but also the added value due to the fame of the territory, the brand name and the tradition of the locally produced variety all come into play. The turnkey prices per hectare are indicative. A realistic estimate, must also consider the fact that the "pure" vineyard market, detached from the real estate and other tangible and intangible assets of a winery in Italy seems to be marginal”.