January 6, 2009
More Italian Sparkling Popped than Ever Before

Italian Wine News
January 6th

In addition to most Italians, a larger number of people abroad toasted the arrival of 2009 with Italian sparkling wines, such as Prosecco di Valdobbiadene DOC, Asti Spumante, Franciacorta, Spumante Trentino, as well as other minor sparklers produced from north to south all along the Italian boots.

In Italy, the national sparkling wines opened the New Year account at about 85% of total bottles popped, marking a 2.1% increase compared to the previous year. Despite the world economic recession, 2008 was a positive year for Italian sparkling wines, with sales of over 300 million bottles for over €2.3 billion (calculate current value in other currencies).

For the first time ever, in 2008, Italy exported more bottles of national sparklers than those opened at home, with the rest of Europe taking in 74% of total exports. Italy is thus closing in on France, which exports around 180 million bottles of sparkling wines a year.

Given all the talk about French Champagne, it may surprise some to know that the major producer of sparkling wine in the world is Germany, which produces 480 million bottles, followed by France with 435 million. Italy remains the third-biggest world producer and it is followed by Spain. Consumption of this type of wine mirrors production, with Germans who drink six bottles a year per capita, France with five and Italy and Spain with three.

Most Italian sparkling wines are produced according to the the Charmat Method, which was devised by Eugene Charmat in the early 1900s and involves a second fermentation in the vat, as opposed to the traditional Champenoise Method, invented by French monk Dom Perignon in 1640, which allows the wine to re-ferment in the bottle.

Source: www.winecountry.it