Italy’s Cabernet Franc nursery vine output fell to 1.5 million in 2025

Italy’s production of Cabernet Franc nursery vines fell again in 2025, even as wineries on the Tuscan coast are giving the grape a more prominent role in higher-value wines.

Unione Italiana Vini said reported production of Cabernet Franc nursery plants in Italy dropped to about 1.5 million in 2025, down from 1.9 million in 2024 and nearly 2.5 million in 2021. The group, citing reporting by Francesca Ciancio in Il Corriere Vinicolo, described a market in which the national decline is being driven mainly by changing planting choices in the Northeast, while parts of Tuscany are moving in a different direction.

The shift has been especially visible in coastal areas such as Maremma and Bolgheri, where Cabernet Franc has increasingly moved from a supporting grape in blends to the center of single-variety projects. That does not mean the variety is expanding everywhere. The picture is more selective. The decline in nursery output shows there is no broad national boom in new plantings. Instead, some producers are using the grape in a more targeted way, often to raise the profile and price position of limited-volume wines.

The Italian wine group said interviews with winery and nursery executives point to a clear regional split. In the Northeast, vineyard development has been turning more toward white varieties. On the Tuscan coast, by contrast, some producers are replacing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with Cabernet Franc, including through top-grafting, a method that allows growers to change varieties without replanting entire vineyards.

That pattern reflects both market pressure and climate pressure. Italy’s red wine segment has been under strain, and the report said sales of Cabernet Franc vines by Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo have fallen from a 2023 peak as the broader red wine category weakens and public support payments decline. At the same time, the variety has gained weight over time relative to Cabernet Sauvignon in some Tuscan decisions, suggesting that wineries are not simply cutting back on reds across the board but are becoming more selective about which grapes they want to keep.

The producers and nursery specialists cited in the report pointed to a few reasons for that selectivity. They said companies are looking for finesse and easier-drinking styles, and they see Cabernet Franc as responding well to the climate conditions of the Tuscan coast. The report also said ripening patterns and the grape’s herbal notes are changing, an issue that is closely tied to warmer conditions and shifting harvest behavior. On yields and productivity, nursery operators did not fully agree, which suggests the grape’s agronomic performance is still being assessed differently from one area or producer to another.

The interviews referenced by Unione Italiana Vini included Marco Tait of Ampeleia, Christian Coco of Poggio al Tesoro, David Bambini of Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo, and nursery operator Marco Moroni. Together, their comments described a grape whose commercial role is changing more through positioning than through volume. In practical terms, that means Cabernet Franc may be planted less often at the national level, but where it is being chosen, it is often being chosen with a clearer identity and with more ambition behind the finished wine.

That matters beyond the vineyard because planting and grafting decisions shape the future mix of wines coming to market. For the broader beverage sector, the trend shows how weak demand for some reds and the need to adapt to warmer growing conditions can push wineries to rethink what they plant, what they rework, and how they present their products. If that continues, the result could be a smaller but more premium supply of Cabernet Franc from key Tuscan areas, while other regions continue shifting acreage toward white grapes.

Unione Italiana Vini said the case of Cabernet Franc shows why nursery volumes alone do not fully explain what is happening in the market. National output is falling, but on the Tuscan coast the grape is gaining reputation and strategic importance in a narrower set of wines, where producers appear to be betting on value rather than scale.