Hail, Heat, Rot in Italy Push France to Top Global Winemaking Spot
The harvest report from 2023 includes good news and bad news in almost all regions.
Workers pick bunches of grapes during an August 2023 harvest at the Celler La Gutina vineyard in Girona, Spain, where a drought emergency was declared for want of rain.
Photographer: Angel Garcia/BloombergEarly on a hot, sunny morning in September, I’m nibbling ripe, juicy merlot grapes at the famed Masseto winery in Tuscany’s Bolgheri region as workers unload lush, purple berries. Winemaker Gaia Cinnirella smiles as she samples a grape. “For the most part, I’m very happy,” she says. “The potential for a great wine this year is good. We’re lucky.”
The growing season wasn’t easy, with the kind of rain, oppressive humidity and extreme heat Cinnirella has seen only while visiting Asia. In many parts of Italy and France, that combination fostered 2023’s biggest problem: downy mildew, a fungal disease that can spread quickly in vineyards, damaging grapes and drastically reducing yields. Masseto had a team of 80 vineyard workers on alert, checking every vine regularly to catch any outbreak and treat it before it could spread.