WINENEWS SURVEY: ITALY’S TOP WINE PRODUCERS HAVE GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 2008 GRAPE HARVEST. EXPERTS AND ENOLOGISTS ALL AGREE THERE WILL BE A RETURN TO AN “OLD STYLE” HARVEST TIME (STARTING IN MID SEPTEMBER) AND ELEGANT AND BALANCED WINES

There seems to be a general optimism for Italy’s 2008 grape harvest. And according to the many top names in Italian winemaking who were interviewed by www.winenews.it, this year could even be similar to that of 2004: both for the harvest time, decidedly “old style” (with the majority of grapes being picked during the second half of September and the beginning of October), and for the characteristics of the wines, potentially very elegant and aromatic. The harvest yields, however, will not be similar at all to 2004 but only slightly higher than last year’s very scarce harvest total.
Naturally, these are only predictions that cannot yet take into consideration the upcoming weather patterns that are crucial to the outcome over the next few weeks (though forecasts do seem positive).
Apart from the disputes over quantity (it is one thing to compare it to the very scarce harvest of 2007, and it is another to compare it to the average over the past five years), the 2008 harvest represents a particularly important event for the Italian wine world after the various dark moments that have recently clouded Italy’s wine production system, as well as within the context of a market situation that does not show encouraging signs.
Now archived, the 2007 harvest was marked by an extremely early start and a very scarce quantity (even if, as we will see, it does not seem that the 2008 harvest will be very abundant either due to a difficult fruit set in the spring and frequent hail storms even in August), the 2008 harvest could be similar to that of 2004, starting with the aromatic potential for the grapes as well as a concentration that is not extreme.
The 2008 harvest, however, has required a lot of effort by winemakers all over Italy. The difficult weather conditions, especially in spring, have been trying for producers especially in regards to timing adequate treatments and this could further amplify the difference between wines produced by professionals and those produced by more improvisational winemakers.

Forecasts Region by Region
For the 2008 harvest in the northern Trentino region, “we should have quantitative levels similar to last year, which were not scarce like in the rest of Italy” – explained Fausto Peratoner, the general director of Cantina La Vis – “along with fruit set problems in the spring and some rain, even intense, that arrived in mid August. Currently, the conditions are good and we will begin to harvest the grapes for spumante towards the end of August, while for the rest we will begin the first week of September. I expect a harvest that is good quality, balanced, a little bit late time-wise in respect to the last three yeas”. Mauro Lunelli, the director of production for Ferrari, does not hide his optimism: “I think that the 2008 harvest could be decidedly positive. First of all, the cool weather has favoured a scaled ripening in the vineyards, according to their height above seal level and the notable thermal excursions have helped the acid in the grapes. For us, who produce spumante, this is a strong sign for the future quality of our wines. The quantity, influenced by a very rainy spring, is in line with that of 2007, which, here in the Trentino, was generally abundant. We will begin the harvest at the beginning of September”. As for the area’s great reds, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, who heads the Tenuta San Leonardo together with his father Carlo explained: “We have healthy grapes that are late ripening, but this is good. It will be an ‘old style’ harvest time-wise, we foresee continuing with the harvest, if all goes well, until the end of October. Quantitatively, average for the company production”.
The situation in Franciacorta is summed up with the words of Mattia Vezzola, director of production at Bellavista: “We began harvesting on August 20. A particular harvest, distinguished by irregular grape clusters, with discontinuous ripening levels caused by a difficult flowering, disturbed by the strong rains. The generally cool summer climate has favored the development of acidity, aromas and the differentiation of the characteristics of the different vineyards, amplifying the peculiarities of the terrains and their expositions. Quantitatively, production will be a little lower than average, due to the damages from hail storms in July and August. A year, however, that is better than what could have been predicted in the spring even in virtue of the good meteorological stability forecast for the decisive moments of the harvest”. Arturo Ziliani, the director of production of Berlucchi, explained that, “the vintage has been characterized by elevated rains with night time temperatures on average lower than historic data for the last eight years, which has determined an initial vegetative slow down and a difficult flowering. We foresee a productive decrease of 20% in respect to the historic average, with peaks of 30-40% in some vineyards, hit by hail in July and August. The initial data collected during the sampling of the grapes were, however, comforting: excellent aromatic profiles, thanks to the elevated thermal excursions, with constant sugar increases according to the characteristics of the vineyard; the acidity is excellent and health is good”.
From the Veneto, analyses are offered by Franco Giacosa, director of production at Zonin: “the ripening proceeds with regularity and with a quantitative decrease in respect to last year for the hillside vineyards, while those in the valley have a more abundant productivity. The harvest in the Veneto could be distinguishable for its aromas more than for its concentration. In Friuli, there have been problems with bad weather, even though quantity should remain within the average. As for Piedmont, the difficult spring weather conditions and the hail in July and August have truly had an effect on the production potential. In Tuscany, we are waiting for a good harvest in Maremma, while in the Chianti Classico area it is still too early to give a definitive judgment, but the quantity is more abundant than last year. I am also generally optimistic about the situation in Puglia: the vineyards are slightly behind but if the weather remains stable, the harvest will be of excellent quality, with a quantitative volume slightly lower than that of 2007, even by company choice. In Sicily, the good health of the grapes and the quantity are in line with the average for past years”.
For Gianluca Bisol, owner of one of the historic names of Prosecco di Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, the harvest will start “between 20 and 25 September. It should be a good year even though we will register a quantitative fall of about -10% in respect to the already decreased harvest of 2007, caused by the complicated weather conditions in spring and the hail storms that arrived even in August”. Carlo Paladin, head of Paladin-Bosco del Merlo together with his sister Luca and brother Robert, is also optimistic: ”we have begun, in these past days, harvesting Chardonnay and the results are very good, with the grapes holding a beautiful acidity. We will enter the height of the harvest next week, while we will begin harvesting the red grapes no earlier than the end of September. We foresee slightly lower quantities in respect to the 2007 harvest, even if it is a little early to give a definitive judgment”.
For Nadia Zenato, at the head of the Valpolicella winery together with her brother Alberto, the harvest, “has yet to begin, and will, most probably continue to the end of October. Quantitatively, the harvest will return within the average of the last harvests, after a particularly meagre 2007. We are satisfied, and if the meteorological conditions remain this good, with warm days and cool nights, we could hypothesize a great year”.
In Friuli Venezia Giulia, Gianni Venica, technical manager of the famous label that also has an estate in Calabria (Terre di Balbìa), “the situation is looking good and I think it will be a good harvest, especially for aromas, but up until June, the conditions were difficult. At the moment, the good weather is balancing things out and this year seems to have taken a more regular turn, without a doubt, now at the beginning of the harvest, which we will not start until the beginning of September. The quantity, at least for our company, and contrary to what newspapers are saying, will be scarce, precisely because of the meteorological problems in the spring. In Calabria, after three months without any rain, the harvest is early and the quantities should be superior to those of 2007”. Massimo Di Lenardo, the owner of the winemaking company from Friuli, is also satisfied: “it is still a bit early to make definitive judgments, but it should be a good harvest, especially for the aromas. Quantitatively, it is more limited in respect to 2007 because of the difficulty in the spring for fruit setting. We will begin the harvest during the first week of September, with more regular timing in respect to the last few years”.
From Piedmont, analyses were made by Ernesto Abbona, from the historic company Marchesi di Barolo: “there was a lot of rain between June and July, which has created problems, above all for Dolcetto and Barbera. Currently, the situation is improving and of the weather remains stable, it should be a good harvest. Quantitatively, we will certainly have less Dolcetto and Barbera, while the Nebbiolo is within the norm. We will begin the harvest within about twenty days”.
For Michele Chiarlo, one of the most famous names among Piedmont wines, the harvest will be a bit problematic. It will begin with the “Moscato around September 10. The yield is a lot lower than last year. It can be estimated -20% for Moscato grapes, -20/25% for Barbera, -10% for Nebbiolo and -10% for Cortese di Gavi. It is an especially difficult year for combating downy mildew attacks. For now, if the weather does not play more tricks, it could be a very good harvest, in theory, but it is still early to conclusively define the 2008 harvest”.
In Tuscany, more precisely in Montalcino, a good harvest is expected. Enrico Viglierchio, the general director at Castello Banfi, one of the leading producers of Brunello, stated: “we will begin the harvest around the end of August for the white grapes. The health of the grapes is very good and there is the potential for a good harvest, even though all, or almost all, depends on the weather from here on. Quantitatively, there is a decrease that could bring levels up little more than 5% over those of 2007. This decrease was determined not only by the phenomenon of falling in the spring, but also the hail in August, which hit Montalcino, especially on the south side”. Stefano Cinelli Colombini, owner of the Fattoria dei Barbi noted, “it seems to be a harvest of good quality but with a predicted decrease compared to last year in terms of quantity. The harvesting operations will begin no earlier than October”.
”A fairly strange year” - stated Francesco Mazzei who, together with his brother Filippo, runs Castello di Fonterutoli - “which frightened us with the rains and hail in spring. Today, we are about ten days behind schedule in respect to last year, which means a more normal harvest compared to the last few years. With fingers crossed, I hope for a beautiful harvest”. Still in the Chianti Classico territory, according to Andrea Cecchi, owner of the historic winery in Castellina together with his brother, “fortunately the 2008 harvest is generally late. Every time it is like this, a good harvest arrives. Jokes aside, it seems that it is going well. Some hail has conditioned the quantitative load. We will begin the harvest in the beginning of October”.
Even Luca Francioni, enologist at Rocca delle Macìe, expresses his optimism for the upcoming harvest: “the climatic conditions have been more normal than those in 2007. Of course, in spring, it rained a lot and the quantity is more or less the same as that of last year. The harvest period is later than that of 2007 and we will begin no earlier than September 15”.
Counter to the trend, at least from a quantitative point of view, are the predictions made by Miriam Caporali, the owner of Valdipiatta. “It is a late harvest, at least by two weeks compared to last year, and very difficult in terms of what we had to deal with during the treatment phase. There are a lot of grapes, we are almost at 2004 harvest levels, and it is very good. The next two-three weeks are decisive in terms of a more decisive qualitative judgment”.
There is optimism even in the vineyards of Bolgheri where Lodovico Antinori of the Tenuta di Biserno explained: “we will begin the harvest at the beginning of September with Merlot. We are very happy with the quality of the grapes. Our estate was not damaged by hail in August so we can count on a generous quantity. The next 20-25 days will be decisive, but if the weather remains stable, as the forecasts seem to indicate, it could be an excellent harvest”. “A harvest that has been very difficult in its preparation, with a very rainy spring, difficult fruit set and a consequential decline in production” - explained Jacopo Biondi Santi, the owner of Castello di Montepò in the Maremma area - “Now, the situation seems to have stabilized for the better. It will be a generally late harvest and, if the weather stays good, it could be an important year”.
For Renzo Cotarella, the general director at Antinori: “as always, the difference will be made within the next month, but, in general, the seasons this year were fairly positive. There is no space for definitive predictions, but from the quantitative point of view, compared to 2007, we have conducted decidedly more thinning than last year. As for our company, it has been a difficult season in Piedmont and it must not rain any more. In Tuscany, the situation is generally very good (from Montalcino to Bolgheri, and Chianti Classico), as in Umbria where there was a bit of drought. Very good in Puglia”.
And there is hope for a good year in Umbria, where Marco Caprai, whose winery re-launched the Sagrantino di Montefalco, noted: “we have just begun harvesting the white grapes and the results seem to be very good. Of course, the problematic spring has reduced volumes even from a few percentage points lower than in 2007. As for the late vines, I am generally optimistic: the average level is very good and there are some points that are truly beautiful”. There is optimism in Torgiano as well, where Vincenzo Pepe, the enologist at Lungarotti explained that, “currently we are behind by about ten days in respect to the last harvest, but it was a very early harvest in 2007. The heat, mitigated by cool and dry nights, seems to have brought things back on a very positive track. We will begin to harvest the early grapes at the beginning of September with an increase in quantity of 5% over 2007”.
And in the Marche, as well, things seem to be looking good this year. Michele Bernetti, who heads the Umani Ronchi winery explained: “we have harvested some of the early grapes, but only sporadically. For Verdicchi, we are still waiting a few more days. The grapes, however, are fresh and very aromatic. For the red grape harvest, we are doing well and the harvest times are generally late compared to last year. Quantitatively, we have recuperated the gap created in 2007, and we should return to the average of harvests in past years”.
Angela Velenosi, the owner of the winery headed in Ascoli Piceno is also optimistic: “we harvested the grapes for our spumante during the week of August 15 with excellent results. At the beginning of September we will continue harvesting Trebbiano. We have had very good climatic conditions and the harvest, we hope, should conclude very well. We will pick the Montepulciano in October. Quantitatively, we have returned in line with 2006 quantity levels, after a 2007 harvest that was truly scarce”.
In Abruzzo, the comments are generally positive by Romeo Taraborrelli, the enologist at Masciarelli: “the harvest is looking very good, notwithstanding the increased rains in spring. From the quantitative point of view something has been recuperated compared to 2007, a year in which, in some vineyards, up to 50% of production was lost, but it will definitely not be an abundant harvest. Ripening is coming along naturally and regularly, we will begin picking the Trebbiano in mid September and Montepulciano no earlier than October”.
“A harvest that for quality” - explained Luciano Biondo, agronomist at Valle reale - “climatically has been very favourable, with hot days and cool nights. Quantitatively, it is better than the 2007 harvest, but we do not have a really high grape load, as one could have thought in spring. We still haven’t begun the harvest of Montepulciano”.
Heading further south to Campania, Piero Mastroberardino, owner of the historic winery in Atripalda noted: “the vineyards are healthy and the grapes are very beautiful. Naturally, our harvest will not begin until the beginning of October, but I can say that I am expecting a very beautiful harvest. The quantities are in line with those requested by the productive potential of our company”.
Mario Gallone, the general manager of Feudi di San Gregorio, also expects a good harvest: “we have not started the harvest yet, we will begin with whites in mid September and with the Aglianico in mid October, but the situation is very positive and we expect an excellent harvest. Quantitatively, we should be in line with last year’s production and, thus, the requirements of the company”.
The Puglia region is also looking good, where Pier Nicola De Castris, head of production at the historic Leone De Castris winery, commented: “we will begin picking reds in a few days, it seeks to be a promising harvest, but it is too early for a definitive judgment. Among the early varietals that we are already picking, the Chardonnay is very interesting. For the harvest of late reds we are waiting another twenty days, but their maturation is proceeding well”.
In Sicily, the most positive comments have been made about the 2008 harvest. For Alessio Planeta, owner of the family business together with Francesca and Santi, it will be a “very beautiful harvest”. “The heat was not excessive and from the results that have been obtained so far from the whites that have been harvested, I can say that I am very satisfied. If the weather stays like this for another 15 days, it could really be an exceptional year. A bit of a comeback for quantity with about 15% more than in 2007, which brings us back up almost to levels in 2006”.
Even Diego Cusumano, from the company whose base is in Partinico, is very satisfied this year: “we are very happy. The Chardonnay and Merlot we have picked has beautiful acidity. Quantitatively, we have a production level of about 10% more than in 2007, a harvest that was very scarce in Sicily”.
Positive forecasts for Donnafugata as well, who, according to Antonio Rallo, will have a very good year. “We began the harvest in Pantelleria on August 18, and this year, fortunately, there are a bit more grapes. The clusters in the later vineyards are ripening well, with the right gradualness. The climatic conditions are ideal, during the day the heat is not excessive and at night there are decisive excursions. If the weather stays like this, I think that it could be a very good harvest. For the grapes destined for other wines, I confirm the tendency of increased quantities, at least according to the results obtained by the early grapes, already at an advanced harvesting phase”.
Comments by Lucio Tasca, president of Tasca d’Almerita, are also positive: “it is a very good harvest, slightly early, but with great qualitative potential, helped by the ideal weather conditions. Quantitatively there is a re-alignment with earlier years, compensating the losses in production during the 2007 harvest”.

The Experts’ Opinions - Carlo Ferrini, Riccardo Cotarella, Lorenzo Landi, Attilio Pagli, and Leonardo Valenti discuss the 2008 harvest
“The harvest, in the areas where hail did not arrive, is going very well” - explained Carlo Ferrini, consulting enologist for many of the most important wine producers in Italy – “I am very optimistic, the season is currently very beautiful with hot days and cool nights. The early grapes will soon be picked, already having started in some territories, while late grapes are expected to be picked in about ten, fifteen days, even though maturation has accelerated decidedly. The weather over the next twenty days is fundamental, obviously”. Riccardo Cotarella, an important consultant for winemakers in Italy and abroad, is a bit more prudent: Allowing that it is still too early for definitive judgments, we can say that the quantitative data is very spotty, with a slight upturn compared to 2007. It seems to be more of an ‘old style’ harvest with generally later picking at the end of September and into October, with the exception of Sicily, where the harvest is early”.
Leonardo Valenti, professor of viticulture at the University of Milan and consulting agronomist for many important Italian wineries, explained: “for now the harvest has begun only for spumante grapes and, in some cases like in Sicily, for early varietals. In general, a delay of about 15 days has been confirmed, a harvest that we could claim nulls climate changes. The data is generally good and for reds we could hypothesize a qualitative harvest in line with 2004, with quantity decidedly more contained”.
“The season is going fairly well, except where there was hail” - commented Lorenzo Landi, consulting enologist for many Italian wineries - “In Sicily, the harvest has already begun, while in the rest of Italy, in general, we will have to wait 10 to 15 days for the early grapes and about a month for late varietals. A year that we can define as not excessively late, nor too early like the past two or three yars. As for the qualitative characteristics, we can hypothesize an analogy with the 2004 harvest, but with a little more heat, which has had decided weight, moderately stressing the vineyards, and, quantitatively, less abundant, with less dense grape clusters than the compactness found in 2004, which could contribute decidedly to the quality”.
Attilio Pagli, another important consulting enologist, also confirmed: “a positive harvest even though the hail damage is significant. The qualitative potential is excellent, greatly superior to that of the past two, three years, with a balanced maturation and alcohol levels that are decidedly controlled. Quantitatively, it is similar to last year, thus, not particularly generous”.