Italiano - IT
English - US
Cap XI - ITALIAN WINERIES - THE ITALY OF WINE AND THE BOTTLING COMPANIES
2.- HISTORIC BREAK
The Industrial Revolution, with the rise of the middle class, the triumph of capitalism, liberalisation and the affirmation of democracy, brought about a slow evolution with changes in human, social, political and production systems..
In Italy, the “Great Change” took place with the economic miracle after the Second World War, when the Italian population changed from agricultural to industrial, and from rural to town-dwellers, with the consequent increase in consumption.
Italian viticulture, which had mainly been mixed cropping until this time (Fig. Italy: Historic Viticulture), became specialised; production increased at a staggering rate, passing from 22 to 75 million hl; the property regimes and possession of land changed and a process started that would lead to the elimination of sharecropping (at the start of the 80s); numerous cooperative wineries were set up with the aim of transferring the capital gains of processing and/or marketing to the advantage of the wine producer; cooperation was favoured and facilitated by tax exemption and heavy subsidies (small farm properties)
The “social-political” factor prevailed over the “economic” factor also thanks to EU intervention (FEOGA), which through distillation, warehousing and enrichment of wine products supported the Italian and European political economy. (Fig. Distilled wine in Italy)
Political prices were guaranteed at such a high level as to encourage surplus production and state intervention was needed to destroy this surplus, which was increased further by changes in consumption, which plummeted from 100 litres pro capita to the current 40 litres.
During the same historical period, wine went from being a food to a drink and gained image value; this evolution led to all the social, political and regulatory actions aimed at giving it a historic content, as well as typicity and value, which in turn led to the codification of the Designations of Origin (DO) and Geographical Indications (GI).
This phase saw an unprecedented increase in rules and specific bodies: production regulations, protection consortia, certifying bodies, chambers of commerce etc… you name it.
And the golden age of consultants, guides and “gurus” that modify vineyards, agricultural systems, varieties and winemaking.
Today, fortunately, this search for an image as an end unto itself is being put into perspective.
CURRENT SITUATION: VINE AND WINE AND THEIR TRENDS IN CONTINUOUS EVOLUTION
For regulatory and trade union reasons, the demijohn (the 54-litre Dame Jeanne, container par excellence, witness to the rural matrix and the link with the winemaking roots of the country of origin until the 1980s) has almost disappeared.
The vinegrowing and winemaking system is searching for new balances to break the old model, due to the following factors:
-
The termination of EU aid;
-
The global economic crisis;
-
The change in lifestyle (healthier, therefore less alcoholic wines);
-
The emergence and consolidation of oligopolistic forms of distribution (mass retail channels);
-
The liberalization and intensification of international trade (WTO);
-
The maintenance of different rules according to different economic areas.
Alongside traditional operating figures (processing wine cooperatives and second degree cooperatives, private bottlers of different sizes), new and very aggressive ones have cropped up and are still cropping up: MGM Mondo del Vino, Italian Wine Brands, Enoitalia, Contri Spumanti, etc.
GIANFRANCO TEMPESTA
MONICA FIORILO
Lettura critica:
PAOLO ANTONIAZZI
Go Top
De Vulpe et Uva. Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved