AnteprimeToscana 2018: Quantity Fall in Tuscan Wines but Better Quality

Wine Production

Thanks to perhaps the climate change that caused havoc last summer followed by frost, the harvest of 2017 has been affected more than recent years in Tuscany, according to a report by AISMEA-the Italian Wine Union. Wine production dropped to 1.6 million hectolitres, 1.0 million less than the previous year, signifying 38% fall. Nationally, the production dropped to 40 million hA, a drop of 26% on the 2016 vintage.

Tuscany is a red wine region with about 88% of wines being red. Of these, most are DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta)-the export classification defined by European Union rules for both DOC and DOCG wines. Nearly the entire area under vine in the region falls under DOP production, about 93% for reds and whites combined; nationally the average is only 56%. The 2017 harvest netted 230 million kg of grapes, resulting in 1.167 million hL of DOP wine and 391,000 hA of IGP wine in Tuscany.

Tuscany has over 22,000 wine-related businesses owning vineyards, with two thirds, just over 15,000 of them growing grapes for DOP wines. They are generally small or medium-small cellars, although there are 20 large-scale wine cooperatives which make up 13% of the total regional production.

Vineyard Features

Over the past ten years, the acreage under vine in Tuscany has shrunk by less than 6%. Recently, expansion has started once more and the vineyards are undergoing improvement, helped through EU policy tools managed by the Tuscan Regional Authorities. More than 43% of all Tuscan vineyards have been renovated, and 24% of them, the equivalent of over 14,000 hA, have carried out this work in the past 10 years, indicating the improvement in quality as well.

According to regional data, Sangiovese is the most wide-spread variety of grape in Tuscany, accounting for 62% of the entire surface area recorded in the vineyard register, followed by Merlot and Cabernet sauvignon, at 8% and 6%, respectively. Tuscany has 58 DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) and IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) designations. Of these, 52 DOP designations are split into 41 DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin) and 11 DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) designations, with 6 IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) designations.

Despite the high number of designations, the reference points in terms of wine volume produced are Chianti and Chianti Classico, accounting for 44% and 21% of the vineyard area, respectively. Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano lag far behind, at 6% and 4%. In 2017, over 12,000 hectares were associated with IGP designations, with a nearly exclusive production of Toscana IGP wines.

Production Value

The ex-works value of the supply chain of Tuscan DOP and IGP bottled wine is estimated to be in the order of one billion Euros, of which about €850 million relate to the DOP wines and €148 million as the IGP wines, equal to 12% of the total of €8.2 billion, as estimated by ISMEA for Italy as a whole.

The tangible and intangible value systems linked to wine reverberate outside Italy. Nearly 60% of the certified regional production finds its way onto international markets, equivalent to about 20% of the total of still DOP wines exported in a normal year. Every year, around 900,000 hL of Tuscan wines find a good place on the international market. Up to now, the ratio between European and extra-European countries has remained somewhat stable, about 43% and 57% respectively, with sales of over €560 million.

Market Trends

The US and Germany remain the two main destinations for Tuscan wine, and together make up over 50% of the Tuscan DOP wine market. There has been a gradual shift in flow from the traditional and consolidated markets towards smaller ones, far away geographically but growing rapidly.

The top five destinations by value lost 5% of the market in 2016 but were stable in 2017, while the other destinations grew by 2% in 2016 and 3% in 2017. This slackening was recorded in all the principal countries buying Tuscan wine, apart from the UK and Russia, where there was a decisive growth in demand. Exports to Canada and Switzerland have also increased.

Further evidence emerging from the analysis relates to the more traditional destinations. These markets provide no comfortable guarantee, as they are susceptible to market factors as well as largely uncontrollable geo-political considerations. They require constant work and attention, together with continuous commercial exertion, even when relying on established and well-known Tuscan brands.

A systematic analysis of sales figures for foreign markets highlights that, against a total average value up by 5% over the past three years, Tuscan wines performed the best outside Europe where the average sales price went up by 7%, while remaining stable in the EU.

The figures have been announced on the sideline of the AnteprimeToscana, an annual event organised by the Regione Toscana to promote Tuscan wines within Italy and the rest of the world by inviting Italian and international journalists of repute. The event was organised from February 10-17 in different parts of Tuscany-starting with wines from 10 different Appellations of Tuscany in Florence- Carmignano, Casole d’Elsa, Colline Lucchesi, Cortona, Elba, Maremma Toscana, Montecarlo di Lucca, Montecucco, Pitigliano e Sovana, Val di Cornia e Valdarno di Sopra. (Feb 10), Chianti and Morellino di Scansano (for some reason the 11th appellation was lumped with this event) in Florence (Feb 11), Chianti Classico (Feb 12-13), Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Feb 14), Nobile Montepulciano (Feb 15) and Benvenuto Brunello in Montalcino (Feb 16-17). A special annual event Buy-Wine was also run side-by side the Chianti events during the week. The event was supported by PromoFirenze.

For more coverage around these events, await Articles future editions of this eNewsletter.

Subhash Arora

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