Italian vintage 2012

How will the 2012 vintage?
Because of the special heat of this summer characterized by the absence of rain, it will be a poor harvest grapes but with little quality. This vintage 2012 will be the second vintage leaner since 1950. This year will be produced only 41.2 million hectoliters of wine, but the month of September is promising. If the month will be characterized by the right temperatures, an adequate level of precipitation and temperature, we will have a thousandth more in many Italian regions.


From the point of view of wine production, the Italy is divided into two main macro-regions: the north, where there is a drop in the range of -5% -15%, and the south, which marks a 0 - +10%.
At the level of the 2012, only the harvest of 2007 with its 42.5 million hectoliters of wine produced. The general Director of “Assoenologi”, the Italian National Association of Technical wine, Giovanni Martelli reassures us by saying that "The full harvest in all of Italy will take place in the second week of September." We are therefore faced with a year that has yet to play a good part of its potential. "For this reason it is not appropriate to predict, since the next month will be crucial, especially for red wines."

As for white wines "is expected a good quality production, with a good freshness and a certain potential olfactory but without any particular peaks except for those products that were rescued with adequate irrigation during periods of crisis or located in specific geographical contexts as the Valtellina and Alto Adige. Very optimism remains for wines that will be obtained from red grapes for which are possible levels of respect".

Here is an outline summary of the provisions of the vintage 2012 * for some Italian regions (compared to the 2011 vintage):
• Piedmont: -5%
• Umbria: -60%
• Tuscany and Puglia: -20%
• Lombardia, Trentino Alto Adige, Tuscany - 15%
• Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia: -10%
• Emilia Romagna and Lazio - 5%
• Marche: +5%
• Campania and Sicily: +10%
* Data from the Italian Winemakers Enotecnici, source Assoenologi

In short, we have to wait to know the progress of the production of the new vintage of the best Italian wines. In the meantime, console ourselves with shopping in our trustworthy wine shop.