Italy’s 2013 Grape Harvest Looking Good

The grape harvest has begun in Italy and looks to be on track to make more high-quality wine than the 2012 harvest. According to Italy magazine, “Climactic conditions in summer 2013 favoured a slow but optimum ripening of grapes, resulting in very high quality.” The harvest (vendemmia) is about 10 to 15 days later than usual though.

A forecast by Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo e Alimentara  predicts that overall that Italy’s wine output will increase 8.4% in 2013 as Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily recover from drought conditions last year.  “The regions in the south seem to recover more, in terms of percentage increase, that those of the north,” ISMEA reports.

Marco Caprai, head of the Arnoldo Caprai vineyard in Umbria, told Reuters that his harvest will yield 50% more grapes than last year and it will result “in wines that are not too rich in alcohol and very balanced.”

As of mid-September, the harvest for Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo grapes is well underway. The harvest continues through early November with Cabernet and Aglianco grapes being picked last.