This year has proved to be a challenging one for winemakers across the globe. It seems like every day that we hear about a new pest or extreme weather event threatening to wipe out a region’s crop, from unprecedented frosts in the Finger Lakes to devastating mildew in Bordeaux. Now, it seems like Italy is taking the brunt of summer’s challenges, with unfavorable weather and temperatures haunting its vineyards.
According to Italian farming group Coldiretti, Italy’s winemakers are reporting that they expect 2023’s harvest to be up to 14 percent smaller than that of 2022. This would mean that the industry’s production could drop to 43 million hectoliters compared to the 50 million reported last season, establishing 2023 as one of the smallest-grossing harvests of the last century, joining 1948, 2007, and 2017 as remarkably low-yielding vintages.
