DOP and IGP wines of Tuscany: 2 million hectoliters placed on the market in 2022, -5% on 2021

Among the great denominations and the small oenological pearls, the wines of the hills and those of the coast, between territories where Sangiovese dominates (in purity or in combination with other vines) and others where success is found in Bordeaux varieties, Tuscany has a unique wine wealth to offer, almost incomparable, and which is linked to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, between almost seem painted countryside that surrounds art cities like Florence and Siena, or small villages of absolute beauty like San Gimignano, Montepulciano, or Montalcino, to name a few. A combination of quality and beauty that flies on global markets, so much so that, according to Istat data analyzed by WineNews, the Region’s wine exports exceeded 939 million euros in the first nine months of 2022, up +15.1% from the same period in 2021, and moving towards a final balance that will exceed 1.1 billion euros in 2021. An increase that, it must be said, is more closely related to inflation than to an increase in the quantity sold. Reading that, at the start of the “Week of Tuscan Wine Previews”, which opens tomorrow in Florence with “Buy Wine”, and then continues with all the territories as described here - finds comfort in looking at the numbers of Avito, the association that brings together the Consortiums of Tuscan wine denominations, according to which the Region - which production, according to Argea data, is 97% of DOP and IGP wines - placed 2.01 million hectoliters of wine on the market in 2022 with a denomination or geographical indication, 5% less than in 2021. A figure that, it should be noted, is influenced by the production volume of the various vintages as well as market demands, but which, in any case, represents a quantitative cross-section that should not be underestimated.
Among the positive ones, we find the Toscana IGT, which, with 724,107 hectoliters placed on the market, between 1 January and 31 December 2022 (36% of the regional total) reached a growth of +3% on 2021. The same growth percentage, but starting from a much smaller base, was achieved by Bolgheri (57,045 hectoliters), Rosso di Montalcino (35,090 hectoliters), and Orcia (1,990 hectoliters). The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is slightly better in percentage terms, at +5%, with 53,697 hectoliters, followed by the Rosso di Montepulciano, at +6%, with 20,805 hectoliters. The +35% of Montecucco is exponential in percentage terms, however, it stops at 8,040 hectoliters, where the happy notes end in quantity.
All the other Tuscan denominations, in terms of the product volume placed on the market, experienced a decline in 2022. They range from -15% of Chianti (which, with 615,506 hectoliters, is worth 30% of the Tuscan wine offer) to -14% of Brunello di Montalcino (73,418 hectoliters), passing through -11% of Morellino di Scansano (60,820 hectoliters) and -6% of Vernaccia di San Gimignano (34,836 hectoliters), while Chianti Classico defends itself, at -4% (for 272,440 hectoliters, 13.5% of the total), and Maremma Toscana is close to parity, at -1% (for 50,920 hectoliters), while Val d’Arno di Sopra “collapses”, but starting from very small numbers, which is at -42% (with 752 hectoliters). Numbers that, like all statistical numbers, do not tell the entire story, but rather a cross-section of it, which production and the market must account for.