Piedmont denominations are considering an exceptional distillation measure for the upcoming harvest

This is the time of year when most people are thinking about beaches and holidays, while Italian winemakers, instead, are thinking about the fast approaching 2025 harvest, though markets are not at their best and wine cellar stocks, on the whole, are very high (46.6 million hectoliters is the May figure from ICQRF, practically an average harvest).
There is some concern even among the most prestigious wine territories that are starting to to take notice, and are putting exceptional measures, such as distillation, on the table, fully aware that if needed, it could provide relief from a contingency. Plus, and more importantly, it’s time to consider a much needed plan for the future, as Confagricoltura Piemonte, the agricultural organization in Piedmont, one of the most important Italian wine regions in value and prestige, explained in a note. Gian Luca Demaria, president of the regional section of the Vitivinicoltura product of Confagricoltura Piemonte commented on the letter signed by Confagricoltura Piemonte and the main consortiums for the protection of regional wines, addressed to the president of the Piedmont Region Alberto Cirio, to the councilor for Agriculture Paolo Bongioanni, and to inform the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, in which “urgent measures” are requested to deal with a situation defined as “one of the most delicate in recent years”. Demaria stated, “considering the complicated moment the sector is experiencing, and considering the grape harvest is less than a couple of months away, we definitely need to assess the stocks and plan future actions. An exceptional distillation measure may be one of the simplest and most immediate interventions to apply. However, it is an emergency measure that must be applied to all denomination wines and values to meet the needs of the winemakers in Langa and Roero. A broader recovery plan for the sector must also be considered and planned all together. We need to assess, considering the general decline in wine consumption, the possible decreases in yields for wines in difficulty, and make a bigger push for exports by simplifying measures such as the CMO, which are often not very flexible and therefore not attractive to companies”. It has been estimated, as a matter of fact, as stated in the note, that at the end of May, more than 190.000 hectoliters of designation of origin wine are still unsold and are not on contracts. “The wines paying the highest price are Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato and Cortese-based wines, which are the cornerstones of the Piedmont production. The Moscato-based wines have been hit the hardest (about 100.000 hectoliters), then Barbera, Dolcetto and Cortese (another 50.000 hectoliters)”.
Trade has collapsed both in volume and value, Confagricoltura Piemonte said, which is comparable to the serious crises in 2008 and 2020, respectively marked by the global financial crisis and the Covid emergency. In addition, there is a higher-than-average 2024 production, a drop in consumption both nationally and internationally, anomalous weather events, and uncertainty linked to US tariffs on European wine. The wine consortiums have proposed an exceptional measure to deal with this situation, which is a crisis distillation for designation of origin wines, to be able to lighten stocks and stabilize the market.
“Furthermore, there are numerous reasons for the drop in consumption”, Demaria explained, “ first of all, the many campaigns on the alleged damage caused by alcohol (not always exactly correct), and a change in habits, especially among the young people. Therefore, we need to make a stronger joint effort to enhance the culture of wine, together with the restaurateurs on the territory. We need an immediate and concrete response”, Demaria concluded, “to avoid a cyclical crisis turning into a real structural crisis of the sector”.