The Regione Toscana (the Regione of Tuscany) has announced the passage of new legislation that will cut the maximum yield for Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and Rosso di Montalcino DOC by “1 ton per hectare.” Beginning with the 2009 vintage, the maximum yield per hectare for Brunello will be 7 tons or 47.6 hectoliters per hectare and 8 tons for Rosso or 56 hectoliters per hectare (source: Montalcino Report).

According to a report posted last week by the Italian news agency ANSA’s English-language site, “The consortium of Chianti Classico producers has decided to put less of the famous wine on the market in order to stabilise prices… ‘The economic downturn, together with a strong euro over the dollar, has hurt us and forced us to adopt measures to counter the decline in prices,’ explained Chianti Classico consortium chief Marco Pallanti. ‘We are fortunate that in our favor we have been producing excellent vintages over the past five years and all indications are that this year will be the same,’ he added. ‘For this reason we have decided not to cut production but to store more wine for the future and put less on the market,’ Pallanti said. The Chianti Classico consortium decided to limit the amount of its wine it will bottle for sale for a period of up to two years.”

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