Franciacorta is the first of the great Italian wine territories to start the harvest

Franciacorta is the first of the great Italian wine territories to begin the 2023 harvest: today, under the best of circumstances, the grape harvest begins in some areas of our country’s Metodo Classico sparkling wine’s denomination symbol. Specifically, the first bunches of Pinot Noir are harvested in Gussago, at the foot of the Parco della Santissima. The harvest of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Erbamat in the denomination’s various areas will begin in the coming weeks, closer to August 15th. In terms of meteorology, the 2023 vintage differed significantly from the 2022 vintage: rains were plentiful compared to last year’s hot and dry climate, and the vineyards had a good production load.
“After the beginning of the year characterized by very limited rainfall and above-average temperatures which led to early vegetative development of the vine, April saw a decisive change of direction, with a drop in temperatures and an increase in rainfall which is continued also in the months of May and June - underlines the president of the Franciacorta Consortium, Silvano Brescianini - the overall volume of rainfall was not exceptional, but it is worth noting that May was distinguished by a high number of rainy days, 19, compared to a historical average of 9 days. In addition to 2013, 2023 had the most rainy days in May compared to the average of the previous 25 years.
Because of this particular situation, the pressure of downy mildew was extremely high, and the winemakers were closely monitoring the sanitary condition of the vineyards. “Fortunately, the damage was contained, and no extreme events hampered production - continues Brescianini - with the thunderstorms at the end of July, temperatures that had reached unusually high levels in the preceding days dropped, and water availability was more than adequate”.
It is also worth noting that the Lombardy Region has approved the request to activate the harvest reserve for 2023, as is customary in climatically favourable years. This translates into the option, where conditions permit, to allocate the wine obtained in excess of the claimable ceiling of 65 hl per hectare, to become Franciacorta grape harvest reserve up to a maximum of 13 hl per hectare. The same disciplinary also regulates the management of the harvest reserve. The vintage reserve wine, in particular, is blocked in bulk and cannot be processed for a minimum of 12 months after taking charge of the winery registers, it has no right to the vintage, and marketing can take place even before it is released, but only after reclassification to Doc “Curtefranca” or Igt “Sebino”.
Franciacorta comes from a year marked by significant milestones and positive data: in 2022, more than 20 million bottles were sold, and, while the domestic market continues to account for more than 88% of sales, exports have increased by 11.5%, with Switzerland, Japan, the United States, Germany, and Belgium among the main outlet markets.
The first half also records gratifying results: taking into account that the sales figures for the first quarter of 2022 showed strong growth compared to 2021, the period January-June 2023 shows positive growth rates when compared with 2021, 2020 and with 2019, in the pre-pandemic period (in particular, compared to 2019, the first half of 2023 marks a +17.6% in volumes).