In Italy 19% of the vineyards are cultivated organically, 4 bottles of wine out of 100 are organic

Nineteen percent of vineyards in Italy are cultivated following the organic method, and in 2020, 4 out of 100 bottles of wine produced were certified organic. “The organic wine chain” report, conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture – ISMEA, the Italian Institute of agro-food market services, revealed that the organic phenomenon is constantly growing all over the world, in terms of expanding vineyard areas as well as consumer interest, who are more and more concerned about the impact of food production on the environment, considering the numbers of a sector that is still a niche but is rapidly rising in consumer preferences. Globally, of the 7 million hectares of the total winegrowing surface, a quota equal to 6.7% is cultivated according to organic agriculture production methods. The total amounts to almost 500.000 hectares, more than double compared to 10 years ago. In 2019 there were 107.143 hectares of organic vineyards in Italy (+109% in a decade), and that is, almost 19% of the total vineyard area of ​​our Country, which is practically the highest in Europe and in the world.
At the regional level and from a dynamic perspective, the report revealed that the Center-North has been rushing to catch up and recover the area gap with the South over the last decade. This growth path has led to a better balance in the distribution of vineyards in the North (22.8%), the Center (22.5%), the South (25.5%) and the Islands (29.2%). There are over 18.000 organic winegrowers in Italy, to which we must add all the other players in the supply chain, for a grand total of close to 25.000 people working in the organic wine sector. As far as consumption is concerned, organic wine is very highly appreciated especially abroad, where Germany and France lead the consuming countries, while Italy plays a key role in the sector’s exports.
“This report represents”, commented Francesco Battistoni, Undersecretary of Agriculture, “a fundamental source of information for the players in the organic wine industry. Italian organic wine is a high quality product, so it is no coincidence that we are the number one European exporters and second in the world. We have the highest number of people employed in organic farming in the Old World, and a constantly expanding market. Our supply chain model is an excellent example, but we are also aware that we still have a lot of room for growth. It is certainly a challenge for a farmer to practice organic farming, but it is a valuable and exceptional opportunity to do business while at the same time respecting the norms of economic, environmental and social sustainability”.