Chianti and Morellino di Scansano - healthy denominations, looking to the future

At the “Chianti Lovers & Rosso Morellino” event in Florence, during “Anteprime di Toscana”, where for many years the two Consortiums have jointly described the new vintages of their territories (2024 vintage, Superiore 2023 typology and Riserva 2023 for Chianti, 2024 vintage and Riserva 2022 for Morellino, on the market since 2025, ed.), the sentiment was that the largest and most “popular” denomination in Tuscany, Chianti, and the pearl of the Maremma area, Morellino di Scansano, are looking to tomorrow, fully aware of today’s difficulties. They are also optimistic about the future, based on the 2024 harvest that was favorable in many respects, and new projects aimed first of all at experiences designed for the consumer in the territory.
“Despite the challenging National and International economic conditions and gloomy geopolitical scenarios, we should not be pessimistic. We have all the numbers to deal with the markets, as well as an excellent quantity and an excellent quality of wine in our wineries”, Giovanni Busi, president of the Consorzio Vino Chianti, explained. He then added, “a week long event will be held in May, open to all “Chianti lovers”: the “Chianti Week”. The event reaches out to the general public offering a thousand events spread throughout the Chianti area, Florence and other Tuscan cities, the wineries and their products”.
“We need to be more and more active on world markets. It is a fundamental requirement in order to offer the product to an even wider audience of people. The excellent quality that Chianti offers is the merit of the many companies that have invested in their vineyards, while our business cards are our history and our quality. Busi further explained, “the Consortiums of Chianti and Morellino di Scansano are asking for an increase in contributions allotted to Consortiums for Internationalization projects, to be able to facilitate companies in reaching markets all over the world, and therefore expand opportunities to everyone”.
In addition, we need to work harder on value, which the market has acknowledged, as shown by data on Chianti’s average price trend. “In 2014”, the president of the Consortium, Busi, said, “the average price of Chianti on the mass retail channel was 3.31 euros per bottle. Today, we have reached 5.28 euros per bottle, maintaining unchanged sales volumes. This is a positive signal. It means that more and more consumers appreciate and recognize the Chianti denomination, rewarding its quality level that has significantly increased compared to 15-20 years ago”.
The 2024 harvest of the Chianti Consortium registered more than 1.15 million quintals of grape production , and 805.796 hectoliters of wine production on a surface area of 13.642 hectares. Moreover, it has given life to wines with a lighter alcohol content than in the past few years, Busi explained to WineNews. “It was a complicated harvest, because it rained a lot towards the final phase, but the grapes were healthy and in the end it was positive. We brought home grapes that produced wines with a lower alcohol content than in previous years, and we are honestly happy about it, because a Chianti that instead of 14-15 degrees, is 12.5 to 13.5 degrees, is an excellent result that helps in this phase”.
“Morellino di Scansano is in excellent health. Although the beginning of 2024 was challenging (especially because of the market slowdown due to the negative economic situation, resulting in consumers’ reduced purchasing power), over the following months there was a gradual recovery in sales”, Bernardo Guicciardini Calamai president of the Consorzio del Morellino di Scansano, who leads the denomination made up of 1.500 hectares of vineyards settled in the heart of the Maremma area, and a production of around 10 million bottles (WineNews interviewed him together with Giovanni Busi), commented, continuing, “there was a slight decline at the end of the year compared to the two previous years, influenced by the post-pandemic euphoria. This decline was offset by an increase in the average selling price of Morellino di Scansano, on the HORECA (hotels, restaurants, catering) market and on the mass retail channel”. Alessio Durazzi, director of the Consorzio del Morellino di Scansano, added, “we have returned from the International Fair, Wine Paris, in Paris, where there great interest was shown for our products from the most mature and competitive foreign markets, such as North America and Northern Europe. These markets are looking more and more for wines that are naturally fresh, pleasant and genuine, which are the intrinsic and identifying features of our coastal Sangiovese. Morellino and Scansano also focus heavily on wine tourism, especially the denomination’s now iconic events, such as “Maremma, the Nature of Wine” (March 10th), “Rosso Morellino” (June 13-15th) and “InGravel” (September 13-14th).