Asti Docg, 18 million bottles sold in Russia in 2022 (despite the sanctions): here’s why – Corriere.it

According to data published by the Asti Docg Consortium (Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin), the Piedmontese winery nearly sold 103 million bottles worldwide in 2022. A figure slightly up on the previous year but definitely up on the pre-Covid period, with +22%. Specifically however, Moscato d’Asti and Asti Spumante travel at different speeds. While the first sells 36 million bottles less than in 2021, marking a drop of 14%, the second records sales of 67 million (+11%). And if for Moscato the setback is considered physiological after the record exploit of 2021, on the other hand Spumante, which is also good in Italy (+11%), driven by demand from Russia, where exports rose by 42%.

A reliable customer

For the Italian Docg, the overall result on sales volume is the best since 2013. A figure that confirms the leading role that bubbles play in the export of Italian wine and the relative solidity of this sector in the face of the geopolitical turbulence taking place in Europe . Of the entire bottled denomination today more than 17 million items are sold in Russia, explains Giacomo Pondini, general manager of the Asti and Moscato d’Asti Consortium. A growth probably determined by a desire to increase inventories, given the uncertainty of the moment. The figure, to tell the truth, does not surprise the company. Pondini limits himself to acknowledging a positive trend which, for several years now, has characterized the Russian market, historically passionate about sweet Piedmontese wine.

The sanctions

An interest that is growing despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine e it does not meet limitations in the European sanctions launched a year ago which, remember, concern only the so-called “luxury goods”. The fourth package of sanctions launched against Moscow, EU Regulation 2022/428 in force since 16 March last year, only includes products with a value of more than 300 euros per item under this denomination. A sufficiently high ceiling not to affect the fate of the vast majority of Italian wines, including Moscato and Spumante Asti which, concludes Pondini, continue to be in demand also in Ukraine where, despite the conflict, the flow of sales remains constant.