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The Italian wine industry is currently struggling with enormous sales problems. According to the Central Supervisory Authority for the Protection of Quality and the Fight against Fraud in Agricultural and Food Products (ICQRF), stocks in March 2023 amounted to 60 million hectolitres. This corresponds to more than an entire Italian harvest and represents an increase of over five per cent compared to the previous year. Last year, sales declined both in Italy and abroad. Red wines with designation of origin in particular are suffering from a lack of demand. The regions most affected are Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo, Apulia and Sicily. Without the positive sales figures of the Prosecco appellations, which continue to achieve good results, the Italian wine export balance sheet would not look rosy either.
The industry is now working together to find solutions. To this end, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture has convened a "round table" attended by wine producers and representatives of the regions. The first proposal from both sides was crisis distillation. Although this has already been practised several times in Italy in the past, there is currently a lack of funding for it, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Two alternative financing options would be possible: on the one hand via the budgets of the individual regions or via EU funding.
Although the Italian wine association Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) is in favour of distilling the surplus stocks, it is clearly against financing through EU funds. These should continue to be used for advertising and investment. "The growing regions that apply for crisis distillation should also be excluded from the distribution of new planting authorisations. It is pointless, even harmful, to strengthen the production potential in regions that already produce wine that cannot find a market," demanded representatives of the UIV.
(ru / Source: Agrisole)