The Ministry of Agriculture has given the green light to transform wine into hand sanitizer

Italian and foreign restaurants were forced to close because of the lockdown, which caused a slowdown in wine exports. In 2019, wine exports reached a record 6.4 billion euros, which was primarily in the high quality wine sector, and one of the sector’s main commercial outlets is catering and hotels the world over. According to the farmers association, Coldiretti and consulting agency, Ixè, survey, almost 4 out of 10 Italian wineries, equal to 39%, registered a sharp drop in activity, sounding a dangerous alarm for liquids. This drop is putting the future of Italian wine at great risk, as the sector gives employment to 1.3 million people, from the vineyard to the glass. Therefore, the political world decided to support the sector, and has published the long awaited implementation decree on the Ministry of Agriculture’s website, making it possible to make space in the wine cellars, for the upcoming harvest, by transforming 150 million liters of wine into hand sanitizer or bioethanol. The measure, funded by the European Union - Coldiretti stated - aims to tackle the shortage of Italian alcohol, on the one hand, and the profound wine crisis on the other, as sales have slowed down to practically half during the lockdown. In Italy, distillation - Coldiretti explained - will involve only table wines, unlike France, where it will also be possible to transform designation of origin wines, such as Champagne.
It is a breath of fresh air for the sector - continued Coldiretti - but it would also be good to cut the VAT percentage, which is now equal to 22%, as well as the tax credit for bad debts caused by the Coronavirus crisis. Furthermore, it is necessary to support the recovery of exports with massive public and private investments and an extraordinary wine communication plan which – Coldiretti said - has always represented, abroad, the driving force for all Made in Italy products, food and non-food. Italy, counting 46 million hectoliters is, as a matter of fact, ahead of France as the main world producer, and 70% of production is DOCG, DOC and TGI wines. The breakdown is: 332 Denomination of Controlled Origin (DOC) wines, 73 Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin (DOCG), wines and 118 Typical Geographical Indication (TGI) wines, while the remaining 30% for table wines. There are 567 varieties - Coldiretti concluded - registered in the vine register on the national territory, against the 278 of our French neighbors, demonstrating the rich heritage of biodiversity that Italy can count on, which boasts the possibility of offering the highest quality local wines throughout the Peninsula.