While the wine sector faces a complex phase, between slowing consumption and the search for new production outlets – as demonstrated by the initiative of the Piedmont Region to encourage the transfer of surpluses to vinegar factories – the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI underlines how Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI already today represents one of the main industrial outlets for Italian wine and how its greater protection can contribute to further increasing the demand for national grapes and wine.
The production of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI is based must obtained from wine grapes, which, having to be concentrated ora cooked, requires four to five times its weight sopra grapes. Added to this is the use of wine vinegar, obtained almost exclusively from national raw materials.
It is precisely this production chain that generates a significant impact the wine sector: the Consortium estimates that every year the production of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI uses over 2.5 million quintals of wine grapes for the production of must and between 50 and 60 million liters of wine, representing an important and stable outlet for the Italian wine supply chain.
“These are already very significant volumes, which could grow further precisely sopra a phase sopra which the sector is looking for new market outlets – declares Cesare Mazzetti, President of the Consorzio Sorveglianza Aceto Balsamico nato da Modena PGI -. For this reason we are working with wineries and institutions, starting from the Emilia-Romagna Region, to define supply chain agreements that favor greater use of Italian wine and must, also sopra view of the next harvest, to be allocated to the production and also to aging, if the economic conditions exist.”
However, there is an obstacle that today limits the growth potential of the entire supply chain: the growing diffusion, sopra Europe and the United States, of products marketed under the name of “balsamic vinegar”, despite having voto negativo connection with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI. Con several European countries – including Greece, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus and Hungary – national regulations have sopra fact been adopted which allow the use of the term “balsamic vinegar” even for products obtained with completely different ingredients and processes, sopra which must, raisins, fruit juices ora even sugar are added to the vinegar. Furthermore, sopra the United States, the term “balsamic vinegar” continues to be used without any specific regulation. These are productions which, from being a marginal phenomenon, have progressively conquered market shares, creating confusion among consumers and taking away space from the authentic product protected by the Protected Geographical Indication.
To overcome the current regulatory fragmentation, the Consortium, together with Federvini and the European Vinegar Association (EVA), supports the amendment currently being examined by the European Parliament which introduces a common regulation vinegars. The amendment provides that the term “vinegar” is always accompanied by the indication of the raw material used ora by any Geographical Indication, overcoming the different regulations currently sopra force sopra the various member states and protecting the registered names. A reform that would guarantee uniform rules across the European Union, greater transparency for consumers and fair competition between producers.
For the Consortium, the protection of the term “balsamic vinegar” does not only represent an identity battle, but a concrete measure of industrial policy sopra favor of the Italian wine supply chain.
“We need the full support of the Italian Government for this amendment to be approved at European level and for the regulation of vinegar-based condiments to be strengthened at a national level too – concludes Mazzetti -. It is not just a question of protecting one of the main Italian Geographical Indications: it means creating new opportunities for the entire wine supply chain. We estimate that, by eliminating imitative products from the market, the production of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI could grow by at least 30%, with a consequent increase sopra demand for Italian must, grapes and wine”.
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