Verdicchio Producers Seek a 21.4% Cut in 2026 Marketable Yields

Producers of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi in Italy’s Marche region are seeking to cut the amount of wine that can enter the market from the 2026 harvest, even as bottling continued to rise in the first half of the year.

The proposal, approved by the assembly of the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini, or IMT, would lower the effective yield for the DOC appellation to 110 quintals of grapes per hectare from the 140 quintals allowed under the production rules. That is a reduction of 30 quintals per hectare, or 21.4%.

Under the same plan, up to 21 quintals per hectare produced above the new threshold would be placed under storage restrictions until June 30, 2027. Those volumes could not be sold immediately as DOC wine. In practice, the measure would slow the flow of new Verdicchio into the market in an effort to support prices and reduce pressure from rising inventories.

The request has been sent to the Marche regional government and still requires approval before it can take effect.

The move shows the tension now facing one of central Italy’s best-known white wine denominations. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi bottles about 90,000 hectoliters a year, and the denomination’s own commercial indicators still show some resilience. IMT said bottling rose 2.7% in the first six months of the year, while domestic retail sales posted only a modest decline. But the group said stock levels increased after the large 2025 harvest, and that the rise in bottled volumes has not been enough to absorb the wine already available.

IMT did not publish the absolute volume of stocks or the percentage increase in inventories, but it said the current level was high enough to justify intervention before the next harvest.

“The conditions in the sector require special attention at both the national and regional level, so we are particularly satisfied with the sense of responsibility shown by the assembly,” IMT President Michele Bernetti said in a statement released after the meeting. He said the aim was to contain stock levels that had grown significantly after the rich 2025 vintage while also preserving price dynamics and protecting the supply chain.

Bernetti added that the consortium believes the denomination has a contemporary, high-quality wine that can compete in Italy and abroad, and he welcomed the arrival of new operators in the area. Still, the decision by the assembly suggests that confidence in the wine’s market position has not removed concern over supply pressure.

IMT Director Alberto Mazzoni said Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi represents an important share of the value generated by the region’s wine denominations. He said the consortium’s work would focus on two tracks: containing and rebalancing supply, including structural measures, and developing a unified promotional campaign for Marche wines over at least four years. IMT also urged the individual denomination bodies within the regional system to consider additional steps, through separate meetings, to limit current stock levels.

The issue is especially relevant for Verdicchio because of the denomination’s size and export profile. The DOC covers about 1,900 hectares across 25 municipalities and includes more than 103,000 hectoliters of production, according to IMT. About 90% of that volume is bottled, equal to roughly 13 million bottles. The denomination counts 338 winegrowers and 129 producers.

Exports account for 51% of sales, and Europe takes 76% of those export volumes. IMT said Asian markets, led by Japan, have been expanding and have partly offset weakness in the United States. By value, the main markets are the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany and Sweden.

That international footprint helps explain why local supply decisions are being closely watched. A denomination that sends more than half its wine abroad is exposed not only to the pace of consumption in Italy but also to uneven demand in multiple foreign markets. A small increase in bottling can look positive on paper while still leaving too much wine in storage if broader sales do not move fast enough.

The proposed cut for the 2026 harvest is a common type of regulatory tool in Italian appellations, where consortia and regional authorities can adjust marketable yields to avoid a glut. In this case, the allowed ceiling in the production code would remain unchanged at 140 quintals per hectare, but the amount that could be released immediately as DOC wine would effectively be set lower at 110 quintals. The additional 21 quintals per hectare above that level would be held back in storage until the end of June next year, creating a buffer that can be released later if market conditions improve.

For producers, the measure is a sign that a solid but modest commercial performance is not enough to offset the impact of a generous harvest. The 2.7% increase in bottling during the first half of the year points to continued activity and demand, but not to the kind of acceleration that would quickly reduce inventories after a large crop. Without published stock figures, the full scale of the imbalance is not public, but the assembly’s decision indicates that the consortium sees a clear risk of oversupply heading into the new vintage.

The case also reflects a wider concern in European wine regions, where producers have been balancing stable or slightly weaker consumption against the need to maintain prices and protect margins across the supply chain. For Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, the response now under review in Marche is not a push for expansion but a temporary brake on supply, aimed at keeping one of the region’s flagship white wines from entering the 2026 harvest with too much volume already on hand.