Tuscany, in the first 10 months 2024 less wine on the market: -1.4% compared to the same period 2023

There are hundreds of data about wine market, consumption export, sales and so on, and many different sources. But, one of these, that, despite not being a 100% loyal mirror of what happens in the final sales of the bottles, is a good litmus paper of how much comes out from wineries to go into the market, and is that of the calculation of state bands, mandatory for DOCG wines, optional for DOC and TGI (the procedural guideline of every denomination, or geographical indication establishes the use), which, actually, in most cases, companies, paying for them, collect them when they are ready for the clothing of bottles (labeling and so on) to deliver to markets, following trade orders. And, by data regarding wines on the market in the first 10 months of 2024 by the main denominations of Tuscany, a wine region amongst the most important ever for value (1.1 billion euros in 2023, with a growth of +3.5% in the first 6 months 2024, according to Istat data), and, for blazon, and with a net red-wine tradition, the trend seeing red wine consumption slowing down a bit is confirmed in the general context. If most of the greatest, and exclusively (or almost) red-driven denominations, in the first 10 months of 2024, see negative variations, or in the best cases little above parity compared to the same period in 2023, the most evident exception, with significantly increasing figures, is Maremma Toscana, thanks to the boom of Vermentino white wine. By Avito data, it emerges that the association gathers the major Wine Consortiums of Tuscany (specifying that for Bolgheri, Maremma, Montecucco, and Orcia, the values refer to the bottled, whilst for other denominations, they refer to distributed marks, ed). The overall data talks about 1.54 million hectoliters with a drop of 1.4%. Therefore, a decrease (to read also in the light of a decisively scarce 2023 harvest, influencing mainly on data of wine coming on the market in the year immediately after the harvest, ed), but not a disaster overall, even if negative marks are more than the positive ones.
Igt Toscana is the greatest and most claimed geographical indication of the Region, capable of narrating a variety, and diversity as no other regional denomination can do (and which began its path to open also to sparkling wine type, as announced in the last days by the Consortium headed by Cesare Cecchi), substantially holds with a -0.3% compared to the first 10 months of 2023 at 559,430 hectoliters. Instead,  Chianti, Docg, the largest of the Region with 480,099 hectoliters, whilst Chianti Classico, on the contrary, grows, a territory, that, for years has been amongst the most performing ones of Tuscany, marking a +1.4% with 197,506 hectoliters.  Brunello di Montalcino holds with a +0.6%, just above parity, with 57,728 hectoliters, to which, however, in the territory, the net -5.3% of Rosso di Montalcino acts as countertrend, stopping at 22,777 hectoliters into the market. And, a similar dynamic is registered also in Montepulciano, where Vino Nobile marks +0.1% with 40,274 hectoliters, whilst Rosso di Montepulciano marks -9.9% with 14,798 hectoliters. Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the “white queen” of Tuscany wine drops to -27% (but here, the effect of scarce 2023 harvest matters a lot) with 23,711 hectoliters, whilst Bolgheri (that is the territory that shows the highest average values per bottle, ed) limits the decline with 44,296 hectoliters. Bad also Morellino di Scansano marking a net -11.4%, for 41,686 hectoliters. And, then, Maremma Toscana comes, that, as said, is in net countertend, with a+6.9% (49,410 hectoliters), connected to the growing success of Vermentino, as also Francesco Mazzei, president of Consorzio Vini Maremma Toscana, and also of the same Avito explains: “considering the first 10 months of 2024 for the ongoing of the bottled, Maremma Toscana is one of the few denominations with positive mark, with the perspective to close 2024 overcoming, for the first time, 7 million of bottles. With Vermentino, which is giving us great satisfaction, we certainly got an improvement of the value of Doc Maremma Toscana brand, a path to continue also with other types of wines foreseen by the procedural guideline; the aim of 10 million bottles in the medium period remains fixed, indispensable critical mass to gain more visibility on the markets”.
In any case, amongst the smallest denominations due to their dimensions, +4.4% of Montecucco, a little area of boundary between Maremma, Montalcino, and Monte Amiata, is respectable with 5,073 hectoliters, whilst Pomino looses with 3,570 hectoliters. Val d’Arno di Sopra halves the quantities (here also due to the last harvests) stopping at 510 hectoliters (-45.3%), and the denomination of Orcia wines drops sharply (-26.5%, with 1,511 hectoliters).