Wine: No to 'masked' harvesting, Brussels needs strategic vision
On the table in Brussels, it's called "Deferred Restructuring," but it actually means "Explants." According to the National Council of the Italian Wine Union (UIV), meeting today in Barolo, financing the abandonment of vineyards through strategic funds from the National Support Program (NPS) is wrong.
Deferred restructuring, as proposed by France but also by some Italian agricultural organizations, represents, according to UIV, more of an invitation to (financed) abandonment than to restructuring: those who access PNS funds will have up to six years to replant, and if they decide not to, they will still receive 50%. In Italy, there are even discussions about extending the time frame to eight years or eliminating the duration of the title altogether.
According to the Secretary General of the Italian Wine Union, Paolo Castelletti, other measures must be adopted, as discussed today in the Council: "The focus of the new CMO must continue to be entrepreneurial and not welfarist, as was the case with the last – and pointless – round of uprootings that cost the EU over €3 billion. Investments in vineyards, technology, and promotion are needed, but above all, a strategic development plan, which Italy still lacks. We are considering a greater push for green investments, implementing new measures to support, for example, innovation, market analysis, and the promotion of wine tourism. As for overproduction," Castelletti concludes, "we must consider reducing yields, uncontrolled reclassifications, and intelligent management of new authorizations that reward those who are truly active in the market, young people, and specialized agriculture."
On the agenda today in Barolo at the Vite Colte winery, the state of the art of the main dossiers and the "Wine and Health", "Technical" and "Sustainability" round tables.
