ISMEA / UIV 2007 Italian Wine Production Forecast
Fifth of Six Parts
Staff Writer – September 13, 2007
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 Latium and Marche.
The foreseeable loss in quantity in the Latium region will range from 10 to 15%.
The lower output is due mostly to the springtime storms which affected the blooming and further development of the fruit, limiting the number of bunches produced by each plant. The following heat wave and the long-lasting drought, with some area left without rain for as long as three months, did not help either.
The grape quality, on the other hand, is good. Illnesses and parasite attacks were almost non-existent, with scattered peronospora hotbeds and some more worries caused by oidium, in particular for the native Malvasia di Candia variety. Overall though, the grapes are healthy and intervention at the vineyards were fewer than usual.
There is also the considerable loss of 15 - 20% in the Marche region as well, because of the drought which affected the regular development of the grapes. The bunches were sparser and lighter than usual, thus resulting in less must output at crush time.
Harvest started a couple of weeks in advance, following a good growing and ripening phase.
The alcohol content is higher compared to last year, and quality expectations are fairly high, thanks in part to the weather condition which kept pathogen agents at bay.
Abruzzo.
ISMEA and UIV calculated Abruzzo loss to be around 15 - 20%, due also in this case to the drought which affected the development of the bunches from blooming to ripening.
In any case, Abruzzo vineyards are in great health, with the exception of sparse oidium insurgencies which were dealt with promptly. The alcohol output is average.
Apulia and Campania.
The major decreases in production for the 2007 harvest are recorded in the southern regions, starting with Apulia, which records a 20% loss compared to last year.
The lower output affects both the southern tip of the boot heel and the Salento production area. The region's production was affected by a series of events, starting with the drought, then heavy rain and hailfall, then, finally, virulent peronospora attacks, especially in the southernmost part of the region.
The early blooming maintained the gap compared to the average development all the way to the ripening stage, and the harvest started two weeks in advance.
Drought is the cause of the 10 – 15% loss registered in the Campania region. June's abundant rainfall had vintners hoping for the reconstitution of the water reserves and the slowing down of the developing process accumulated that far. Instead, July was very hot, with the lower temperatures at night higher than the norm, thus pushing forward the earlier ripening of the fruit.
Despite the fact that the August weather turned out to be similar to July's, some slow down in the ripening process was observed thanks to the cooler nights and the related temperature variation, reducing to about one week the early start of the harvest.
The grapes are in good health. Though the bunches are fewer and the grapes are smaller than usual, the fruit is more concentrated, thus the sugar content is expected to be higher than in 2006.
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