Are There Too Many DOP’s in Italy?

Since Italy aligned their wine regulations with the European Community in 2012, the unbridled enthusiasm to rush wine towards the vaunted DOCG position has been stultified. With 73 DOCG’s and 330 DOC’s rolled into the DOP categorization, some have wondered aloud if there are too many (403) appellations in Italy. With more DOCG’s coming on line (Nizza in 2015) and some confusion as to what is a DOP wine (is it DOC? DOCG? Both? Something else?) and looking at the large numbers of wines with appellation (DOC/DOP) that make up a minute amount of actual wine produced, Carlo Flamini (who has submitted some interesting comments here) has written an article in the “Il Corriere vinicolo”, "Tempo di Scegliere", (password required) proposing Italian winemakers (and lawmakers) might step back and revisit how they are promoting "Brand Italy" to the world.

Thanks to Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who lives and works in Tuscany for a thought provoking piece on here website, “Le 327 piccole denominazioni di vino devono sparire?” (translated here for English speakers) which in essence outlines a proposal by Flamini to consider eliminating 327 DOC/DOP wines in Italy.

The New Symbol of Excellence

The biggest news that came out of Vinitaly 2012 last week was the announcement of an agreement the Italian government reached with the EU in Brussels to accept the proposal for a level of wine similar to the DOCG within the European DOP protocol. Giuseppe Martellino, President of the Com.Media Nazionale Vini had this to say, “Italy produces wine at the highest levels and it is only right that we continue to reward and recognize those wines of greatness in the organization of our wine laws, not only in Italy but in the European community. Today Italy and her wine industry have seen that recognition by our neighbors and colleagues. This is a great day for Italian wines!”