What happened in July 2023 in the world of wine? Let's see together the wine news from all over the world to know, selected by Sommelier Wine Box.
The 9 July wine news you need to know.
1. 2023 NUMBERS: CONSUMPTION (ITALY)
The beverage data in the Horeca channels show this trend: 2020 recorded a collapse (-35.6% in volume and -41.5% in value) and 2022 an extraordinary recovery (+74.4% in volume and + 89.2% in value).
The numbers for the first half of 2023 have been released which show a return to a sales level close to pre-covid : 10.4% in volume and 18.9% in value. This slowdown in growth is mainly due to less favorable climate and economic factors (taxes, inflation and general expenses).
Simone Pazzano writes about it on Repullica.
1.2 2023 NUMBERS: PROFITABILITY (ITALY)
The results of the investigation by Anna di Martino have been published, published in "L'Economia" of the newspaper "Corriere della Sera" and on its website , which has lined up the turnover of the largest Italian wine companies through an examination of the 117 major Italian wine companies.
The leaders of Italian wine in terms of profitability are:
I- Tenuta San Guido with an index of 62.29%;
II, III - on the second and third step of the podium the Tuscan Biserno (which brought together the brothers Piero, Lodovico and Ilaria Antinori, together with Umberto Mannoni and today led by Ilaria's son, Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi) and the Friulian Jermann (controlled mostly from Antinori), with indices equal to 52.7% and 48.4%;
IV- in fourth place Marchesi Frescobaldi , led by Lamberto Frescobaldi, with a ratio of almost 39% , up by more than 2 points on 2022 and a turnover of 153.9 million;
V- the Santa Margherita Group of the Marzotto brothers comes in fifth position, with a ratio of 34.6% against a turnover of 260.4 million.
You read about it on Wine News .
2. PERONOSPORA
The 2023 harvest will have a great enemy: downy mildew , a fungus that is affecting the vine after two years of absence due to drought , which reappeared with the late spring rains. It has found the perfect climate to take root especially in the Adriatic regions ( Puglia, Abruzzo and Molise ) but also in Basilicata, Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany . In some organic vineyards there is a risk of not harvesting at all. The regions of Northern Italy, more accustomed to dealing with it, seem destined to pay a lower price.
Attilio Scienza explains that " at the beginning it only caused damage to the leaves, but now we are seeing the first drying of the bunches. The fungus entered the bunch during flowering, remained latent for a few weeks and will manifest itself very visibly at the time of veraison ”.
You can read about it in various places, for example here and here .
3. ALCOHOL
Stefano Cinelli Colombini reflects, writing in Intravino , on the decision to indicate on the label the serious damage to health of alcohol, wondering whether selling such products should not be considered a crime (murder, causing damage to health, massacre...). The intervention has the great merit of drawing attention to a fundamental problem, namely the risk connected to the equalization of use and abuse in the European directive .
4. FRESCOBALDI
Still on the Tuscany-United States wine axis, Frescobaldi acquires Domaine Roy & fils in Oregon: a 12-hectare estate in the Willamette Valley, all organic, specialized in Pinot Noir.
Among others , Il Sole 24 Ore writes about it.
5. CATALOG OF OLD VINEYARDS
An ambitious plan to create the most complete database on old vineyards has recently been launched: the Web Old Vine Registry (OVR) is the first online database that can be consulted and updated on historic vineyards throughout the world.
The current state sees thirty countries represented: Portugal leads with 822 vineyards , Spain and the United States follow with 383 and 334 vineyards, then there is Australia and France follows with only 142 vineyards listed.
The oldest vineyard is estimated to be 600 years old and there are 17 that are over 200 years old. The minimum age for inclusion in the list is 35 years.
The instrument is constantly updated and will be a very interesting tool, to increase sensitivity and promote its conservation and also for future research.
You read about it onWine Searcher .
6. STOP ENGLISH PROSECCO
Planned to become home to a new English wine revolution, featuring millions of bottles of 'English Prosecco', plans for the Kentish Wine Vault (KVW) winery have fallen through . The UK government's planning inspectorate has rejected the company's appeal against a local council's decision to block construction of the winery. The impact this would have on an area of exceptional natural and scenic beauty would have been excessive.
7. BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR
This year's Bordeaux's En Primeur leaves a bad taste in the mouth for two main reasons: little wine released and high prices . This last aspect, in particular, invalidates the very meaning of the operation despite the vintage being of excellent quality.
For châteaux, "en primeur" was originally a way to obtain cash flow, a need that no longer seems so urgent.
For consumers it was a way to buy immature wine at a much lower price and resell it (or drink it) 15 or 20 years later for a much higher price. This pattern seems to be breaking down.
8. COUNTERFEIT WINE
Shanghai police have arrested 11 suspects and confiscated over 100 cases of counterfeit wine "of a renowned brand". The gang is accused of having already put over 10,000 bottles of counterfeit wines on the market.
9. Additional geographical units for Chianti Classico
New additional geographical units (UGAs) have been approved for Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, the flagship wine category of Chianti Classico. These additional UGAs include some mountain and hilly areas that can be used to produce Gran Selezione. The objective is to further improve the quality of these premium wines, allowing producers to select grapes from specific geographical areas and guaranteeing greater typicality. The decision was made to enhance the diversity of the Chianti Classico terroirs and promote oenological excellence.
For example , Decanter writes about it.
