November 5, 2008
The Comeback of Il Vino Novello

Starting tomorrow until May 2009 all over Italy it will be possible to drink one of the 17,000 bottles of Vino Novello produced for the 2008 vintage. A trend very popular back in the 1980s, drinking Novello seems to have come back in fashion these last few years as more wine enthusiasts have come to make this a seasonal ritual, appreciating how these wines can often provide an insight to the quality and characteristics of the current vintage and what to expect from the more complex wines still ageing in the cellar.

The last years have seen a reduction of production of vino novello as more producers concentrate on quality, but not a reduction in sales reaching more than €80 million in a market shared by 400 producers nationwide, national consumption coming mostly from Veneto, followed by Tuscany. Germany and Japan are the largest importers of Novello, attracted by what differentiates the Italian wine to the French Beaujolais, location and variety, as Italy’s Novello offers more choices in regional provenance and varietals.

Unlike the Beaujolais that is produced only from Gamay grapes grown from one specific area north of Lyon, in Italy Novello may be produced all across the country using various varietals. The most used varietals area: Aglianico, Cannonau, Barbera, Merlot, Nero d’Avola, Corvina, Refosco, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese.

To mark the release of the 2008 vintage, and as a response to the increasing market demand, the city of Verona will host Anteprima Novello, a relaunch of the event know as the Salone Nazionale del Vino Novello that until last year took place in Vicenza. This two day event (November 6-7) is organized by Vinitaly and will showcase the products of about 50 producers, including the likes of Marchesi Antinori – whose famed winemaker Giacomo Tachis is responsible for introducing Novello on the market back in 1975.