Bartolommei (Brunello): “need to launch a promotion program to relaunch the DOCG”

Italian wine is facing a difficult period – but it is not alone, as evidenced by the crisis that has been gripping France for some time now France – and is therefore grappling with exports suffering from US tariffs, its main market slowing down, historic European partners struggling compared to 2024 performance, from Germany to Switzerland to the UK, and cellar stocks rising in a year of abundant harvests in 2025, there are also positive signs on the horizon.
Like the numbers that seem to bring good news from Montalcino, at least according to the Consortium, where Brunello is staging the 34th edition of “Benvenuto Brunello” (November 20-24), the preview that reveals, in the glass, the new vintages that will go on sale in January 2026: Brunello di Montalcino 2021, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2020, and Rosso di Montalcino 2024. At the opening of the event, the Consortium spoke of a “leap in the last two months of 2025 in Brunello bottling, which is thus realigning itself with volumes close to the same period last year (-0.9%): the performance recorded in the last month was particularly significant, with volumes above 1.9 million equivalent bottles, 39% more than in October 2024”, However, these are state labels requested and delivered to the wineries.
A clear acceleration which, according to the analysis – carried out on a Valoritalia basis based on the state seals delivered, repeats the press release from the Consortium – brings “the balance, in the first 10 months, to 7.63 million bottles, compared to 7.69 million in 2024. The driving effect of the new vintage, 2021, the star of the Montalcino ‘preview’, which will only go on sale from January 2026 but has already generated interest in recent months (over 2.1 million equivalent bottles), is significant”, adds the Consortium.
However, the president of the Consortium, Giacomo Bartolommei, states very seriously and clearly that “there is not necessarily an automatic correlation between bottling and product sales, but the data is, in any case, an interesting market indicator that brings us back to buoyancy after several difficult months. Regardless of this, the Brunello Consortium is convinced of the need to launch a promotional program to relaunch the appellation, with collective participation in the main and historic market outlet – the United States – but also in other markets, with the aim of diversifying the business opportunities for our wines as much as possible. The program, scheduled to start in 2026, will be defined in the coming weeks”.
Brunello di Montalcino, but not only, because the note also mentions “strong growth” for Rosso di Montalcino: “after the increase in vineyards (which allowed for the addition of up to 352 more hectares, ed.), bottling in the first 10 months of 2025 rose to almost 4 million labels delivered and +29% year-on-year”.
Tomorrow, we will report on the best WineNews tastings, with the “best performances” of the wineries (followed by news from the conference on wine tourism, Paola Minaccioni’s tile for “Una Nessuna Centomila”, and videos on the territory, ed.).

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