“This Triptych is increasingly becoming a less regional and more national event, with the participation of the regions most involved in wine production in Italy (Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Puglia and Sicily), with a focus on the main competitors foreign countries (France and Spain). This is thanks to the support and collaboration with Crea Viticoltura ed Enologia, the regional bodies Avepa and Arpav and the other regions of the North East, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano".
Thus the director of Veneto Agriculture Nicola Dell'Acqua introduced this morning the second focus of the Veneto Wine Triptych, a "historic" event (49th edition) organized by the Veneto Region and Veneto Agriculture with AVEPA, ARPAV, CREA-VE and UVIVE . dedicated to harvest forecasts in Veneto, in the remaining North East, in the main Italian wine regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Puglia and Sicily), as well as in France and Spain.
“More and more - continued Dell'Acqua - we should face issues relating to extreme weather events : dry years such as 2022 will recur, or particularly rainy years such as this year. Regional and Italian viticulture is proving to be able to deal with these climatic situations which are no longer even changes, but the current reality. The main problem of this vintage were fungal diseases , to which the winemakers were able to respond well, with excellent results, thanks to increasingly targeted and precise treatments. For this reason, production yields are expected to increase slightly in Veneto, as well as overall production, also due to the increase in areas planted with vines."
The quantitative-qualitative forecast data for the 2023 harvest were presented online this morning to wine operators who, like every year, await this moment to frame the imminent harvest in the three key countries of European and world viticulture: Italy, France and Spain , with particular focus on Veneto and an in-depth look at the other main Italian regions.
The common factors that characterized the current wine year practically everywhere were the frequent rainfall and a greater presence of fungal diseases , which certainly affected the harvest production in the Veneto region, but also in other wine-growing areas, for a year which is defined by several voices as " difficult ".
However, where these problems have been dealt with professionally and effectively, production yields should not undergo particular variations and, on the contrary, increase slightly, just as the quality of the grapes should remain at good-excellent levels.
"The elements that have characterized the vintage so far have been the climatic instability and the frequent rainfall, also of a hailstorm nature, and the high pressure of fungal diseases, downy mildew on everyone and in particular in the organic vineyards" - he underlined Patrick Marcuzzo of Crea VE of Conegliano in his speech, to then go into detail on the data collected by a panel of technicians and agronomists from the most important wineries and producers in the Veneto region.
“In the companies that apply integrated pest management, the damages caused by downy mildew have been in the order of -5/10% of quantitative loss, while in the companies that apply the organic cultivation method these losses have been higher, mostly between the -10/20%. The incidence of other plant diseases such as Mal dell'esca and Botrytis was also higher than 2022, while Flavescence had a less significant increase. The hail hit several production areas hard, with production losses that reached -20%”.
Overall, by virtue of a greater fertility of the buds and a greater enlargement of the berries due to the good water availability, an increase in production yields is expected for most of the varieties in all the provinces.
And consequently, also considering the entry into production of new vineyards, the overall production of grapes harvested in Veneto should rise to around 15.9 million quintals , up by 5/6%.
The green light for the harvest should take place 5-10 days later than the usual dates, depending on the earlier or later cultivars. The first bunches to fall into the baskets are those of the early varieties (Pinot and Chardonnay for spumante bases) whose official start is scheduled between August 28 and the first days of September, but it must be said that in some areas of Vicenza and Padua the harvesting could start as early as next week. The harvest of all the other varieties will follow: the Glera (Prosecco) should start from September 15th, Merlot from the 18th, Corvina from the 20th, Garganega from the 25th, just to name a few of the main Venetian vines.
Let's see, in a nutshell, what are the harvest forecasts in the Triveneto , recalling the slides presented during the meeting, the videos regarding the pre-harvest situation in the main Italian wine-growing regions, in France and Spain and the video of the meeting are available on the Veneto Agriculture website at the following link: https://bit.ly/3YDfPQc
In the province of Belluno , production is expected to be substantially in line with that of last year (2/3%), except in areas affected by hailstorms. In Padua and Rovigo , on the other hand, forecasts are more optimistic and production is expected to be 10% higher than in 2022 for the main varieties. The exceptions, in the province of Rovigo, are Merlot, whose yield should be unchanged, and Pinot Grigio, for which a lower production is expected (-10%) due to the uprooting due to the attacks of Flavescence dorée. In the province of Treviso an increase in the production of Glera is expected (10%) and instead a reduction in the quantities of red grape varieties (-3/5%), higher for the non Doc/Docg varieties, not so much for phenological and climatic conditions (except for areas affected by hail events) but due to entrepreneurial choices to prefer the planting of white grape varieties.
In Venice , excellent fertility, number of bunches and enlargement of the berries lead us to foresee an increase in production especially for Glera and Chardonnay, while the production of black grape varieties should be more stable, always excepting areas damaged by hail.
The same positive effects, to which is added the entry into production of new vineyards, are expected to support production in a more significant way also in the provinces of Vicenza and Verona. In Vicenza, an increase in the quantities harvested of around 15% is expected for all varieties, while in Verona , the increase in production should amount to around 10% for the main cultivated vines and 5/7% for the minor varieties. both black and white.
In the North East , in the two autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano , an increase in production of around 10/15% is expected, on the one hand due to the more favorable weather conditions compared to 2022 and on the other due to the entry into production of new vineyards. The latter aspect, on the other hand, had little or no impact on the results expected in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , where production is expected to grow by 5/10%, exclusively due to the climatic trend, where there have been no hailstorms or phytosanitary problems (downy mildew).
