Confirmations and new entries, the new top management of the Piedmont wine Consortiums is being decided

Piedmont is one of the most important Regions in Italy and the world because of its name and the history of its wines, the value of the hectares of vineyards, especially in Langhe del Barolo, and its weight on Made in Italy wine exports (1.2 billion euros out of 7.7 billion euros total, second only to Veneto at 2.4, and ahead of Tuscany, which is third at 1.1 billion euros, in 2023, according to ISTAT data). The Consortiums that protect and govern the most important denominations have renewed their top management.
The most recent news is that Sergio Germano, at the helm of one of the most famous wineries of the denomination, Ettore Germano (one of the first to invest in Alta Langa, as many other Barolo winemakers have also done), has been elected the new president of the Consortium Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani, succeeding Matteo Ascheri, who led it for two consecutive terms. It is one of the most important Consortiums and protects 9 denominations (Barolo, Barbaresco, Dogliani, Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba, Barbera d’Alba, Langhe, Dolcetto d’Alba, Nebbiolo d’Alba, Verduno Pelaverga). And, it also counts 577 wineries, totaling 10.000 hectares of vineyards (2.258 hectares in Barolo, at values of more than 2 million euros per hectare, 859 in Barbaresco, 766 in Dogliani, 204 in Diano d’Alba, 1.734 in Barbera d’Alba, 1.174 Nebbiolo d’Alba, 934 Dolcetto d’Alba, and 2.620 Langhe DOC), generating an average production of around 66 million bottles per year.
The Asti DOCG Consortium, another leading and historic wine consortium in Piedmont, has also elected a new president, Stefano Ricagno, who has taken over from Lorenzo Barbero. Ricagno, former Brand Ambassador for the Piedmont companies Cuvage and Ricossa of the Argea Group, is also vice-president of the Vignaioli Piemontesi and of Piedmont Land of Wine, the organization that represents all 14 Piedmont wine Consortiums, and has been officially acknowledged by the Ministry of Agriculture. Further, the Management Committee of Canelli DOCG has also been appointed. It had been formally DOCG within the Asti Consortium, in June 2023, and comprised Giacomo Scagliola, president, as well as Ernesto Abbona, Gianmario Cerutti, Giorgio Forno and Ignazio Giovine. The Asti DOCG Consortium covers an area including 51 Municipalities in the Provinces of Alessandria, Asti and Cuneo, and 10.000 hectares falling within the “Wine-growing landscapes of the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato”, a World Heritage Site, the first in Italy, acknowledged by UNESCO in 2014.
Maurizio Montobbio, at the helm of the Gavi Consortium, one of the most important white wines in Piedmont and Italy, has recently been confirmed at the helm of the denomination that covers over 1.600 hectares in 11 Municipalities - Bosio, Capriata d’Orba, Carrosio, Francavilla Bisio, Gavi, Novi Ligure, Parodi Ligure, Pasturana, San Cristoforo, Serravalle Scrivia and Tassarolo. The Consortium counts more than 180 members, and production is 14 million bottles, by a local supply chain employing more than 5.000 people, and a value of over 67 million euros.
The confirmations and new entries mentioned have been decided just one year after the Consortium of Barbera d’Asti and Vini del Monferrato, at the end of May 2023, appointed Vitaliano Maccario president, who took over from Filippo Mobrici (now vice president, ed.), at the helm of the Consortium that protects 13 denominations (Albugnano, Barbera d’Asti, Cortese dell’Alto Monferrato, Dolcetto d’Asti, Freisa d’Asti, Grignolino d’Asti, Loazzolo, Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Monferrato, Nizza, Piedmont, Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato and Terre Alfieri), in an area covering more than 10.000 hectares of vineyards, while production, on average, is more than 65 million bottles per year.