Wine grape production up 13.8%, Vinitaly

(ANSA) - Verona, April 8 - The production of wine grapes exceeded 70 million quintals in 2018 with a 13.8% increase on an annual basis, according to data released Monday during the 53rd International wine and spirits fair Vinitaly in Verona.
    The strong increase, following a poor year in 2017, has led to plummeting grape prices, according to the report 'Rapporto della Borsa Merci Telematica italiana (Bmti) on the prices of wine grapes in 2018, presented at the agriculture ministry's stand at Vinitaly.
    In particular, the price of grapes for the production of Franciacorta wines went down 28% in 2018 compared to 2017.
    Glera grapes for Prosecco Doc registered a 19% drop and grapes for Prosecco Docg Conegliano - Valdobbiadene went down 12%.
    Grapes used for the production of Tuscan reds fared better with stable prices for the grapes of Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano and strong growth recorded for the grapes of Chianti Classico (+21%), according to the report.
    Piedmont registered a 5% increase for Moscato grapes and a slight downturn (-3%) for Barbera d'Asti (-3%), the study said. The report, Bmti stressed, provides an analysis of the prices of wine grapes in Italy in 2018 with the objective of guaranteeing the market's transparency to benefit companies, market watchdogs and policy makers.