The worst harvest of the last 50 years could jeopardise the production of white sparkling wine (also known as prosecco) in Italy and see a decline of 15 per cent.
Producers are complaining about a drop in production due to last year's heavy rainfall, which hit the northern Italian regions of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, among the largest producers of this type of wine.
However, Robert Cremonese, export manager of sparkling wine producer Bisol, says that some wine producers are taking advantage of the situation to raise prices by up to 50 per cent.
Italian winemakers confirm the critical situation, estimating the depletion of the 2014 production by the middle of 2015. They warn not only of a significant rise in prices, but also problems of supply in supermarkets and in all activities that use large quantities of home-grown prosecco.
Prosecco is the number-one substitute for champagne. According to data from the Observatory of Italian Wine (OVSE), about 307 million bottles were sold in 2013, surpassing the French equivalent, which reached 304 million. The bulk of production is classed as Prosecco DOC, which means that it must be produced in the designated production area, around 70 kilometres north of Venice.
Italy now accounts for only 30 per cent of Prosecco DOC sales, with exports to the US growing 34 per cent and to the UK by 60 per cent in 2014.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic.
