Italiano
Source: Il Sole 24 Ore
The designation system has transformed Italian wine over the past thirty years, shifting from undifferentiated production to a certified quality model linked to specific territories. But today, this heritage risks fragmentation: according to Valoritalia’s Annual Report, out of 219 certified DOC, DOCG, and IGT designations, only the top 40 account for 95% of bottles, while the bottom 139 together represent just 1.4%.
This situation concerns the president of Valoritalia, Francesco Liantonio, who believes that although the large number of designations represents a wealth of variety, it becomes a limitation if not supported by adequate protection and promotion structures. Liantonio noted that the weakness of the protection consortia—too few compared to the number of active designations—undermines the value of lesser-known labels.
Giuseppe Liberatore, General Director of Valoritalia, also stressed the urgency of strengthening protection bodies, suggesting the merger of designations based on territorial proximity to overcome anonymity and commercial irrelevance.
According to Valoritalia, the recent European reform of PDO and PGI offers an opportunity to redefine the Italian consortium system by creating alliances and synergies capable of strengthening promotion, protection, and supply regulation. For Liantonio, without a shared coordination framework, many designations risk remaining just a name on a label, with no real value for producers or territories.