The consortia of the big DOCs publish peu-à-peu the results of the first five months of 2021. According to them, the demand in April and May more than adjusted the losses of the first months, as already proven by the example of Valpolicella.
DOC Sicilia breathes a sigh of relief
In 2020, the production of DOC Sicilia had slipped by a total of five percent from 95.6 to 90.8 million bottles. From January to May 2021, bottling picked up again by six percent compared to the same period of the previous year; of the total loss in 2020, 2.36 million bottles have already been recovered.
Piedmont with records
According to the portal Winenews, Piedmont is reporting records. The consortium Barbera d'Asti and Vini del Monferrato recorded an average growth of five percent for its 13 DOCs. This is the highest growth of the past four years. Barbera d'Asti, the DOC with the highest circulation under the direction of the consortium, increased by 1.4 percent, while the small DOCG Nice generated increases of 32.5 percent.
The consortium for Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani indicates an average growth of 19.7 percent. Barolo (+27%), Barbaresco (+28%) and Langhe Nebbiolo (+26%) are the biggest accelerators among them.
Tuscany's triumph
After Montalcino had already published fabulous figures for the first quarter of 2021 at the Benvenuto Brunello Off vintage presentation, Brunello triumphs over all major origins with a sprint of 49 percent compared to the same period last year.
After an annual loss of eight percent in 2020, producers in Chianti Classico requested a remarkable 31 percent more state seals in the January-May 2021 period compared to 2020. Bolgheri is up 2.2 percent and Tuscany's largest origin, Chianti, recorded growth of 9 percent in the first four months, outperforming even 2019 results by 9 percent.
Powerhouse Prosecco Rosé
Britzer wineries are also performing well in the first five months of the year. DOCG Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore wineries requested 5.2 percent more state seals, while DOC Prosecco is also accelerating by 18 percent thanks to the success of the new Prosecco Rosé. The DOCG Franciacorta is experiencing a veritable phase of blossoming. According to the consortium, 48 percent more bottles of the fine sparkling wine from Lombardy were sold in the first four months of the year.
Optimism in the rest of the country
The Konsortium Südtirol Wein, which has been headed by the chairman of the Kurtatscher Kellerei Andreas Kofler since the beginning of 2021, is optimistic about the future thanks to a 6.4 percent recovery.
The large white wine DOCs from Friuli to Veneto to Marche are also showing signs of growth: Collio comes in at 15 percent, Soave at twelve, and Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi posts seven percent. For Lugana, only the figures from January to April are available, but in this period, it already went up by 18.8 percent.
The industry hopes that the revival of the market will consolidate thanks to the fading pandemic and the openings for tourists in summer. vc
