Chianti Classico Producers To Hold Back Some Wine
The winemaking members of the Chianti Classico Consorzio in Italy are responding to falling wine prices. Decanter reports that wineries in Chianti Classico have agreed to a 'blocco delle vendite' and will hold back 20 percent of the wine produced from this year's harvest for at least two years. The decision was prompted by the general state of the wine industry rather than anything specific going on in the region. This is the first time the region has tried this experiment. Many of the wineries produce Riserva wines which need an additional two years of aging anyway but others are hoping that by pulling back part of their wine they will be able for force a bit of demand and prevent plummeting prices. Chianti isn't the first region to have this idea. Back in April, one of the biggest Champagne producers called for a major reduction in harvesting. So far though I haven't seen any official announcements from the members of the Champagne growers group on potential harvest reduction.
