The production, sales in Italy and exports of this type of wine in 2020 were really excellent.
Although 2020 was a particularly difficult year due to the Covid pandemic, the Italian semi-sparkling wine segment recorded record numbers. 400 million bottles were produced and sold, for a total turnover of 734 million euros: 429 million abroad and 305 in the Italian mass market. Semi-sparkling wines, below 2.5 atmospheres, therefore saw an overall growth of 4%.
According to the Semi-sparkling Dossier of Corriere Vinicolo – Uiv, this category had a greater resilience than sparkling wines in 2020 and in fact accounted for 9% of shipments abroad in volume and 7% in value. “The first destination for Italian semi-sparkling wines is still Germany, where 26% of the bottles produced end up, followed by the USA (19%), Mexico (7%), Austria (4%), Russia (4%), the Czech Republic (4%), UK (4%), France (4%), Holland (3%) and Spain (3%)”.
With regard to production, the two main regions that hold a 90% share are Emilia Romagna and Veneto. Lambrusco in 2020 was the denomination that saw the greatest production: 160 million bottles produced, of which 75% Igt Emilia. In second place, however, we find Prosecco Doc (under 2.5 atmospheres) with 87 million bottles produced. “45% of the production is represented by Igt, 37% by varietals and generic wines and 18% by DOP. In terms of topology, reds and whites share the market equally, with a share of 45%, while the remaining 10% is represented by rosé wines, a percentage higher than that of sparkling wines (7%)”.
The complete Wine News article is available here.