ITALIAN POLICE CRACK DOWN ON FALSE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO, BAROLO, AND CHIANTI IN GERMANY (A MARKET THAT ABSORBS 14% OF TOTAL EXPORTS). COLDIRETTI LAUNCHES ALARM: “FAKES ARE THE TOP MARKET”

“It is necessary to close the doors decisively to all attempts at fraud and have sophistication in defending the credibility acquired on the internal and international market thanks to the recognition earned by the efforts in quality, above all in Germany which is the top market for Italian wines, earning 3.2 billion euros and with a record growth of 20%”.

This was the recent confirmation made by Coldiretti in a positive response to the operation ‘Superciuk’, which has recently been initiated by the Italian police force (Nas) in an attempt to uncover falsified bottles of Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti, and other fine wines in Germany and Denmark.

Coldiretti also noted that after the long and arduous job of giving back the true qualitative value that Italian wine has now conquered since the grave methanol crisis twenty years ago, it is necessary to insist on a ‘zero tolerance’ path when confronted with episodes that risk damaging the image of Italian wine production (which is the number one agriculturally based export for Italy) on national and international markets. And, according to a Nomisma study, the German market is the most important for Italian wine, absorbing 14% of total exports for Piedmont’s reds like Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera and Grignolino, 20% of Venetian reds such as Amarone and Valpolicella, 32% of Trentino and Friuli whites like Traminer and Collio, and 40% of DOC-DOCG Veneto whites like Prosecco.

The brilliant Nas operation began after the start of this year’s early harvest which foresees a decline in total production of 10%, for a total of about 45 million hectoliters, but with over 60% of which sold under one of the 484 certifications of origin (DOCG, DOC, IGT) that are recognized in Italy.

For Italy, this is an important component of the national economy. In 2006, ‘Made in Italy’ wines earned a record 9 billion euros, 3.2 of which were from exported wines.