HARVEST 2023 IN THE VENETO: RAIN AND HAILstormS PUT THE VINEYARD IN DIFFICULTY. NOT ONLY FLAVESCENZA DORATA: STRONG DEVELOPMENT OF DOWNY MILDEW, POWDERY MILDEW AND OTHER FUNGAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY IN ORGANIC VINEYARDS. WE START AT THE END OF AUGUST WITH THE EARLY VARIETIES

The management of phytosanitary problems in the field worries the winemakers, who are facing every difficulty with the utmost professionalism to try to preserve the health of the grapes.

At the same time, the abundant rains compared to the drought that characterized last year bode well: from a quantitative point of view, expectations are optimistic and stable or slightly increasing harvest quantities are expected compared to last year.

The wine sector is an important business card for all regional agriculture: the area under vines in production in Veneto in 2022 rose to around 94,700 hectares (0.8% compared to the previous year), for a total production of grapes harvested equal to approximately 15 million quintals (7.2%), while 11.9 million hectoliters of wine were produced (8.6%), corresponding to 22% of Italian production, which was approximately 54 million hectoliters .

A share of 77.3% of the total wine produced in Veneto, almost 9.2 million hectoliters, is made up of DOC wines and another 19.8% of IGT wines, confirming the very high quality now achieved by the Veneto vineyard .

Overall, in 2022 the value of production at basic prices of wine grapes is estimated by Istat at around 400 million euros, while that of wine stands at around 957 million euros, for a total economic value of the products wine products of 1.36 billion euros, 5.5% compared to 2021.

And as far as wine exports are concerned, once again in 2022 Veneto confirmed its position as the leading region in Italy, with a 36% share of the national total exported, for a value of approximately 2.85 billion euros (13.4% ).

Compared to last year, in which the high temperatures and drought anticipated the harvest period, this year the operators announce that the beginning of the harvest should presumably take place in the last week of August : we start with the harvest of the grapes early ones, such as Chardonnay and Pinot, while for the medium-late varieties it will be necessary to wait a few more days to draw up a general harvest calendar.

In light of this, the Veneto Region and Veneto Agricoltura have set the date for the "historic" and long-awaited focus on harvest forecasts , now in its 49th edition just around the time of the start of harvesting operations.

The event will be held online on Friday 18 August at 10:00 and as always will see the involvement of AVEPA, ARPAV, CREA-VE, UVIVE, the Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento . The presentation of forecast data for the next harvest in the Veneto region , in the remaining North East , in the main Italian wine regions ( Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Puglia and Sicily ) and abroad is scheduled.