The Italian Harvest 2019, here are the first estimates by Coldiretti: 47-49 million hectoliters

With the first bunch of grapes officially cut in Sicily, Italy enters gradually into the 2019 harvest. According to Coldiretti, first to give its estimates, it should have a production between 47 and 49 million hectoliters, -10% over 2018. Estimate that if respected should see the Belpaese in the position of world leadership in quantitative terms, since in France, as Coldiretti recalls, the forecasts are 43-46 million hectoliters, and in Spain of 40-44 million hectoliters. In any case, numbers to take as always with caution, for a harvest that, to really get to the heart of the matter, will still have to wait a long time.
“The 2019 harvest, due to the crazy climate and bad weather intersperse with African heat waves that characterized the summer - explains Coldiretti, from the rows of the Cantina Massimo Cassarà in Sicily, in Contrada San Giorgio in Salemi, province of Trapani, where the first bunch of an early variety such as Pinot Grigio was harvested - has some delays, especially in the north.”
”In Italy, the current conditions - underlines Coldiretti - bode well for a vintage of good or excellent quality, even if the trend of the harvest will depend very much on the rest of August and September to confirm the forecasts also on a quantitative level. From north to south of the Peninsula harvest traditionally starts with the Pinot and Chardonnay grapes in a process that continues in September and October with the harvest of the great native red grapes Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo and even ends in November with the grapes of Aglianico and Nerello.
About 70% of the Italian production will be destined to DOCG, DOC and IGT wines, with 332 DOC wines, 73 DOCG wines , and 118 IGT wines recognized in Italy, and the remaining 30% to table wines. “On the national territory - recalls Coldiretti - there are 504 varieties registered in the vineyard register against the 278 of French cousins as a demonstration of the rich heritage of biodiversity on which Italy can count, which boasts throughout the peninsula the possibility of offering local wines of the highest quality thanks to a millenary tradition. The first four regions in terms of quantity produced are Veneto with 25% of the national total, Puglia with 18%, Emilia Romagna with 17% and Sicily with 8%”.
The vineyard in Italy, with its 658,000 hectares of cultivated land, offers job opportunities with the beginning of the harvest, with 1.3 million people working directly in fields, cellars and commercial distribution, but also in related activities and of service. “The army of wine - concludes Coldiretti - ranges from winemakers to employees in wineries and commercial distribution, but also in related activities, services and ancillary industries that have spread to the most diverse areas: from the glass industry to the cork industry, from transport to insurance companies, from the accessories industry, such as corkscrews and sabers, from nurseries to packaging, from research and training to divulgation, from wine tourism to cosmetics and the wellness market, from publishing to advertising, from software programs to bioenergy obtained from pruning residues and by-products of winemaking”.
“Italian wine, with a turnover of over 11 billion euros, has grown by betting on its identity, with a crucial turning point towards quality, which represents a reference model for the growth of the entire national agri-food industry,” said Ettore Prandini, president of Coldiretti, underlining that “distinctiveness and connection with the territory are the winning competitive factors for the entire Made in Italy”.