It looks like it's going to be a good year for wine quality-wise even if quantity will be down from 2005, according to leading Italian winemakers quizzed by Winenews, Italy's "pocket wine website".
A survey of over 30 of Italy's leading wine producers found that Italy can expect a top-quality harvest this year if favorable weather conditions hold.
Although quantity is lower than last year, producers said the quality of the grapes they traditionally pick early has been very good and superior to 2005.
Weather plays a key role in the quality of grapes and this year saw ample rain in the winter throughout Italy, a cool spring, which in some parts of the country delayed budding on vines, and a hot June and July which risked compromising the harvest had temperatures not dipped somewhat in August.
This was followed by what producers have defined as a near-perfect September.
Although conditions appear to promise an excellent harvest, Alessandro Ali, marketing director for the Santa Margherita vinery in the northeast region of Veneto, said "we need to get all the grapes into our cellars before we can say whether or not it has been a good harvest".
Optimism for a good harvest was running high in Tuscany where Stefano Campatelli from the Brunello di Montalcino consortium predicted a "very lovely" harvest and sources at Castello Banfi said the harvest will be "exceptional" if weather conditions hold.
This opinion was echoed by Lamberto Frescobaldi who observed that "with these sunny, cool September days it's hard not to be optimistic".
Wine producers in central Italy said the harvest in regards to quantity has been normal while quality appears to be above average and even "extraordinary", as was the case for the Lungarotti vintners in Umbria.
The harvest is well under way in southern Italy and while it has been good so far in the southeast region of Puglia, in Sicily a drop in quantity of as much as 20% is expected, even if the quality is said to be excellent for the native Mediterranean grapes.
