SITUATION BEFORE HARVEST 2023

VITALIANO MACCARIO, PRESIDENT OF THE BARBERA D'ASTI AND MONFERRATO WINES CONSORTIUM. “At a quantitative level, given the drought and hail storms, a minimal reduction in the quantity of grapes is estimated. - says Vitaliano Maccario, President of the Consorzio Barbera d'Asti e Vini del Monferrato - The prospects for the harvest remain good, with an excellent state of the grapes also thanks to the rains in the months of May and June, which protected the vineyards from the following summer heat. Today we can say that with these temperatures, we will begin during the last week of August with the harvest of white berried grapes and then move on to the harvest of red grapes towards the middle of September. An excellent result that we can confirm also comes from the careful and correct approach of our companies from the point of view of phytosanitary treatments. A great job that has allowed us to block the onset of fungal diseases.”

STEFANO QUAGGIO, DIRECTOR OF THE CONSORZIO VINI VENEZIA “The seasonal weather trend has certainly put a strain on the territories protected by the Consorzio Vini Venezia, first subjecting them to intense water stress and, subsequently, to copious rains interspersed with sunny days and anomalous heat. ” Stefano Quaggio, Director of the Consorzio Vini Venezia explains, “Furthermore, extreme atmospheric events such as strong winds and hailstorms have put a strain on the plots. The humid climate due to the frequent rains has also favored the spread of pathogens, in particular downy mildew. However, thanks to the careful management of the producers, the vintage does not seem to have suffered any consequences from a qualitative point of view. As far as the harvest period is concerned, for early varieties such as pinot gris, it is expected to start from the third week of August.”.

RAFFAELE LIBRANDI, PRESIDENT OF THE CONSORTIUM FOR THE PROTECTION OF DOC CIRÒ AND MELISSA WINES "The general situation has so far been very complicated" declares Raffaele Librandi, President of the Consortium for the protection of Doc Cirò and Melissa wines "the exceptional rains of May and June caused the explosion of plant diseases, mainly downy mildew. The damage was significant in some vineyards, while in others the spread of the disease was better managed. The constant rains, however, made interventions in the vineyard difficult and the quantity of grapes was already compromised from this period of the year. In the second half of July we were concerned about the possibility of the spread of further diseases, such as grapevine oidium. The exceptional temperatures, however, have stopped the spread of these plant diseases. Luckily the heat was not such as to cause the plants to collapse, as they withstood the high temperatures quite well. Since the end of July, temperatures have returned to normal seasonal values.”

ANTONIO RALLO, PRESIDENT OF THE DOC SICILIA CONSORTIUM “This was a particularly complex year because, starting from last autumn and winter, we worked in very particular climatic conditions that we can define as “not very Sicilian”. - Says Antonio Rallo, President of the Sicily Doc Consortium - More frequent and very intense rains have involved an environmental context characterized by a normally much drier climate. The spring and summer rains have certainly been useful for building up water reserves in the soils and basins, an additional protection in defending the plants from the extreme heat of recent weeks. The ripening of the grapes is about a week late. The expected drop in production is around 35%, we remain quite positive for the quality level of this vintage.”