Wine, the success of the “whites”: in 2019, Pinot Grigio delle Venezie at +34%, Lugana at +27%

If Italian wine is associated in the world above all with the great red wines, and if for some years now, sparkling wines have been the driving force behind exports, the Italian wine is also made of great white names. And some, in 2019, recently closed, have recorded really important growth in world markets, especially abroad, with exports being by far the predominant market for these two realities, Pinot Grigio delle Venezie and Lugana.
The former, is one of the most important expressions of Pinot Grigio in Italy, which, according to data released today by Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) and Alleanza delle Cooperative, is one of the most cultivated grape varieties in Italy, with a leap from 17,000 hectares in 2010 to 31,000 hectares in 2018, with the Belpaese that puts together 47% of the world's surface area of Pinot Grigio, almost all in the Triveneto area, from where also 1.7 million hectoliters of the 2.2 total of Pinot Grigio wines in Italy come from.
Well, for the DOC delle Venezie, which touches Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Province of Trento, 2019 saw an increase of +34% of bottles sold, reaching 223 million bottles, 95% of which end up abroad, USA, UK and Germany in the lead, as mentioned by the Consorzio delle Venezia, led by Albino Armani.
But the growth of Lugana was also remarkable: the Lombardy-Venetia denomination, an expression of the Turbiana grapes grown mainly around Lake Garda, registered a jump in sales of 27% in 2018 over 2019, reaching 22 million bottles, with 70% of the product ending up abroad, as recalled by the Consorzio del Lugana, led by Ettore Nicoletto, with Germany and the USA representing the most significant landings.