Italy’s Wine Output to Rise 8.4% as Piedmont and Sicily Recover

(Bloomberg) - Italy’s wine output may jump 8.4 percent after grape harvests in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily recovered from drought last year, researcher Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo e Alimentara forecast.

Production is expected to rise to 44.5 million hectoliters (1.18 billion gallons) from 41.1 million hectoliters last year, the Rome-based group wrote in a report dated Sept. 17 and published online today.

Italy was the world’s second-largest wine producer after France last year, production data show. French output may rebound at a slower pace after a wet and cold June hurt pollination, with the 2013 volume up 7.5 percent to 44.5 million hectoliters, France’s Agriculture Ministry predicts.

“At the moment everything leads us to believe that 2013 wine production should be higher than the not particularly abundant one of 2012,” ISMEA wrote. “Caution is always required but this year even more so. Most of the grapes are still in the field.”

Production in Veneto, Italy’s biggest wine-growing region and known for its Valpolicella reds, is forecast to rise 4 percent to 8.05 million hectoliters.

Volume in Piedmont, home to the Barolo and Barbaresco wines, is predicted to increase 7.5 percent to 2.54 million hectoliters, while Tuscany production may climb 5 percent to 2.2 million hectoliters, according to ISMEA.