Italy is TOP, the country with the largest wine production and also the largest wine export worldwide. In 2020, 49 million hectolitres were pressed, which is the average of the last ten years. Almost half, namely 20.8 million hectolitres, were exported, which is also in line with the long-term average. Italy, France and Spain together produced 136 million hectolitres of wine last year, which is 53 percent of the world’s production…… and we are a part of it, albeit a very small one!

Organic is catching up. Organic wines have long led a niche existence in Italy. But in the last ten years, production has more than doubled, from 3 million hectolitres (2010) to 7.5 million hectolitres (2018). That’s just over a seventh of the total production…….. this encourages us to be on the right track.

From red to white wine. In the past, Italy mainly produced red wine, but for ten years more white than red wine. The winegrowers are thus reacting to a change in demand, which is shifting from red wine to white wine. The change in preferences is attributed to the spreading aperitif culture and rising temperatures. Cool white wines, also sparkling wines, or then beer and aperitif mixed drinks…….. and again we are right: in spring 2021 we planted 2,000 white wine vines! In 3 years there will be the first tasting!

Wine consumption rises in the pandemic year. Due to the coronavirus, wine consumption in Italy increased by 7.5 percent in the pandemic year 2020 compared to the previous year and by 10 percent compared to the average of the last five years. And this despite the fact that the tourists were absent to a large extent. Worldwide, however, wine consumption fell by 3 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year…….. at least in our budget, we cannot confirm this. We tried to exercise restraint from Monday to Friday…… Exceptions confirm the rule!

Decreasing alcohol consumption. However, over the past sixty years, wine consumption in Italy has steadily declined, from 17 litres per capita in 1961 to 5 litres in 2018. Overall, alcohol consumption in Italy has halved in the last forty years, from 13 liters of pure alcohol per capita to 6.6 liters. Alcohol consumption has also been increasingly shifting to beer and other beverages in recent years…………. we remain faithful to wine!