Towards the 2023 harvest, the final balance from the 2022 harvest: up Veneto, down Sicily

In the first estimates disclosed at the beginning of September, Assoenologi, Ismea and Uiv defined 2022 as a vintage characterized by exceptional elements, due to the evolution of climatic and meteorological trends. Forecasts confirmed by harvest data, which, while confirming a total production of 50 million hectoliters, revise the distribution over the various territories, which did not fully comply with the forecasts precisely due to the specific weather conditions that characterised the months of collection.
The northern regions, affected by hot summer temperatures followed by thunderstorms in August (that caused some damage), which could suggest limited production, were instead characterized by good production stability and even an obvious increase in Veneto ( 12.6 million hectoliters, +7.2% on 2021) and Friuli (2.2 million hectoliters, +9.1%) precisely thanks to the positive trend in the months of September and October and careful and professional management of the vineyard, of the highest level, with truly good results.
On the other hand, in the Southern Regions, particularly Campania (536,000 hectoliters, -20.4%) and Sicily (3.5 million hectoliters, -23.2%) and part of Puglia (10 million hectoliters, -2, 3%), the torrid summer temperatures and the stunted vegetation, which were thought to be compensated by the rains of the month of August, instead led to a clear reduction in production prompting us to consider how to find adequate water rescue in cases of exceptional temperatures like those of last summer. Also in the Centre, Lazio (713,000 hectoliters, -16.5%) and Abruzzo (3 million hectoliters, -7.9%) were more affected than expected by the summer stress suffered by the vineyards.
According to the final data, the 2022 harvest is slightly above the average of the previous five years, but aligned in the long term, also taking into account the constant renewal of the vineyards and the careful technical management that the wineries express today, as a guarantee of adequate production and quality. The Assoenologi, Ismea, and Uiv analysis thus closes the accounts of the 2022 harvest and looks forward to the next harvest with great trepidation and uncertainty, in a 2023 marked by a climatic trend under the sign of variability and which already sees the viticultural technicians and oenologists in a careful work of monitoring and timely planning of campaign operations to ensure an adequate quality level for Italian wine.