Early Italian Grapes Face Competition From Other Origins Leading Producers to Invest in Later Varieties

The Italian early grape season becomes more challenging every year due to pressure from other origins. At the start of the 2022 season in mid July, early grapes were ready for harvest but there was no market demand, mostly because of the availability of grapes from other countries. This forced Italian producers to leave grapes on the vines and extend the harvest window of early grapes, according to the development of demand. This situation, which year after year is confirming a concrete trend, is leading producers to invest more in late varieties while pulling out less productive, older and early varieties.