The price of bulk wine

According to data from Ismea on the wholesale price of bulk wine, Brunello di Montalcino is the most expensive Italian wine while prices of other classic wines have declined offering food for thought.

I return to a subject that I began a few weeks ago on the price of Italian wine after reading a preview of an Ismea (Institute for the Agricultural-Food Market Services) report that I will share with you here and that indicated a drop in prices starting with the higher ones.

All the prices refer to 100kg.

Red Wine: 

• Brunello di Montalcino is around 1,000 euros.
• Amarone 2013 between 850 and 950 euros while vintage 2014 is slightly lower, between 800 and 900 euros.
• Barolo is 820 euros.
• Barbaresco rose 7.3% to 515 euros.
• Bolgheri climbed 11% to 500 euros.
• Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2014 was between 280 and 350 euros.
• Ruchè was between 260 and 300 euros.
• Nebbiolo d’Alba ad Valpolicella were stable at 285 euros.
• Nizza was around 250 euros.
• Chianti Classico was in the neighborhood of 230 euros.
• Barbera d’Asti Superiore was between 150 to 250 euros.
• Etna continued to gain value and rose to 150 euros, up 11.1% over 2016.
• Dolcetto, both Alba and Diano, was stable at 150 euros.
• Barbera d’Asti was between 100 and 150 euros.
• Rosso Conero was 112.50 euros.
• Piemonte Barbera ran between 70 and 110 euros.
• Chianti stood at 97.50 euros.
• Lambrusco di Sorbara fell 7.4% to 75 euros.
• Montepulciano d’Abruzzo slipped 4.1% to 73.75 euros.

White wines:

• Gavi rose 10%
• Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene was unchanged at 270 euros.
• Pinto Nero from Trentino stood at 235 euros.
• Prosecco DOC sank 16.7% to 187.50 euros.
• Roero Arneis was stable at 170 euros.
• Soave Classico fell to 92.50 euros and Soave to 68.50 euros.
• Matelica was 90 euros.
• Verdicchio di Jesi stood at 85 euros.
• Marino rose 12% to 70 euros.
• Colli Albani and Frascati fell respectively by 12.6% and 11.8% to 45 euros and 75 euros.

If you divide these numbers by 100 you will more or less have the per liter price and if you take off 25% you will get the price for a 750cc bottle. These figures refer to the wine itself to which should be added the cost of bottling, distribution and retail profit. I realize that to many wine lovers these figures may be befuddling but they are important to get a clear picture of how things are going on the wholesale wine market and the way some wines have a greater commercial edge than others.

The fact that Verdicchio costs less than a euro per liter bulk is certainly not good news for producers and the same goes for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Soave, and they are all important, I would say fundamental, Italian wines.

To think that a liter of Prosecco is worth three times more than one of Soave is, indeed, food for thought, is it not?