The first grapes were picked for Italy’s sparkling wines this week, with many Prosecco producers reporting optimism for the forthcoming harvest and subsequent vintage.
A warm summer and pre-harvest cooling period has given Prosecco makers close to ideal growing conditions, according to president of the DOC council Stefano Zanette. “The recent rain and the lower temperatures were exactly what we had been hoping for,” he said.
Italy’s wine harvest is expected to rise by as much as 20% against last year’s crop – a similar resurgence to the one expected in France, which anticipates a 27% increase on its historically-low 2017 harvest.
According to Italy’s farming union Coldiretti, Italy and France are now “neck-and-neck” in the race to be crowned the world’s largest wine producer in 2018.
