The celebratory tour planned by the Lugana Consortium to celebrate 50 years of denomination started off with a convention organized at the Lonato Rocca: the significant anniversary falls at a particularly happy time for the Garda white wine. “The vineyard grows at a rate of 200 hectares per year,” says the director of the Peschiera Consortium, Carlo Veronese. In 2017, we will break the 2000-hectares record, for a production to reach 17 million bottles compared to last year’s 15.2 million. ”
More and more important numbers, accompanied by an unprecedented expansion on international markets: the share of Lugana sold abroad is now equal to 80% of the total volume, and Germany has become the first consumer country to overcome Italy .
“However, we record interesting signs of rediscovery also on the domestic market,” explains Luca Formentini, president of a Consortium which now associates 160 producers. While the best growth performance is coming from the US, where for four years now we have been investing in capillary promotional projects. ”
In half a century Lugana has walked a long road. “But once it was just the farmers’ wine, consumed mainly in the local farms,” as recalled in Lonato by professor Michele Vescia, the man who was in fact responsibile for the creation of Doc Lugana in 1967, the first ad Be approved in Lombardy. Indeed, it is to underline that, if the denomination cuts the fiftieth anniversary, the production of this wine has begun in much earlier times: but only in recent years has Lugana been able to find the momentum to become one of the most successful and internationally-valued italian wines. At the congress in Lonato, Lugana’s path to success was also recalled by various past presidents (Marisa Monesi, Francesco Ghiraldi, Paolo Fabiani, Francesco Monresor), and also the late Walter Contato and Sergio Zenato, which also made a major contribution to the growth of Doc, were remembered. But the growth, according to Luca Formentini, has not yet ended. ”
“There are still many hollow spaces within the borders of the denomination that are still today the same as in 1967,” said the president Formentini. But the challenge is to integrate with the landscape and sustainability. Because a quality wine must always match a quality territory. ” The next appointment for the celebratory tour in the 5 municipalities of Doc is scheduled for 9 September at Peschiera with the tasting open to the public “Lugana Armonie Senza Tempo”.
On October 6th, it will be the turn of Sirmione with the walk around tasting “Lugana Doc with Taste in Sirmione”, on 25th November of Desenzano with the tasting of old vintages “The Ages of Lugana”, and in December of Pozzolengo with a great gala dinner .
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