Italy: 2023 Harvest Worst Since Post-War Period

Italy’s 2023 harvest was one of the worst on record, the least stable since 1947. This is explained by data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry: production amounted to 38.3 million hectoliters, with a huge 23.2% drop compared to the 2022 volumes. The data is confirmed by the Assoenological Observatory, the Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market (ISMEA), and the Italian Wine Union (UIV).

The main cause may be false powdery mildew, a fungal disease that leads to the loss of leaves and the entire production of the bunches, aided by frequent rains that have “particularly affected the central south,” explains the Assoenological Observatory, ISMEA, and UIV. “In the rest of the country, however, the September summer, on the one hand, further lightened the product, and on the other hand, had a positive effect on grape quality.”

Spain’s production also fell from 40.7 million hectoliters to 32.1, while France harvested 48.1 million hectoliters, overtaking Italy. In general, production fell in 13 European countries account for in the report of the Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Union (Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, Holland, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia). From 2022 to 2023, it went from 165.6 million hectoliters to 138.9 million hectoliters.