Produttori del Barbaresco; Maurizio Gjivovich | The vineyards of Barbaresco fared well and the Cabernet Franc has pleased Elia Merli of Le Macchiole in Bolgheri

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Italian winemakers have been vexed this year by one of the wettest and most "bizarre" vintages in recent memory, as one producer put it.

Across Italy, an extremely mild winter accelerated the growing cycle causing a premature onset of ripening. An unusually cool summer slowed it down. But the lower temperatures also brought overly abundant rainfall throughout Italy that hampered ripening and led to widespread vine disease.

In wine powerhouse regions like Puglia and Sicily to the south, trade observers predict a 30 percent decrease in production compared to last year.

In Prosecco, in northeastern Italy, vineyards were soaked with an astounding 370 mm (14.5 inches) of rainfall in the month of July, making it impossible to work in the vineyards with any type of machinery and slowing the ripening process as vine disease was left unchecked.

Barbaresco, in the northwest, is an exception in an otherwise bleak outlook this year for the country's wine trade.

"It could be Barbaresco's year," Berry Brothers & Rudd Italian buyer David Berry Green said yesterday. "They suffered less rain [100 mm compared to 260 mm in Barolo] and no hail."

Aldo Vacca, export manager for the cooperative Produttori del Barbaresco, said that unless the weather took a "disastrous" turn, "it looks like we'll be able to make our single-vineyard wines". He said that he expected a vintage similar to 2005 with "excellent but medium-bodied, bright wines".

In Barolo, where most growers will conclude harvest over the next few days, estates unaffected by June hailstorms are pleased with good potential alcohol levels in their Nebbiolo.

"We’ll be selling off our Dolcetto as bulk wine," said Ferdinando Principiano who makes wine for his family's estate in Monforte d'Alba, one of the Barolo appellation's top villages. "But Nebbiolo showed its true noble character", in spite of the challenges of this soaking-wet vintage. He plans to make his single-vineyard wines, including his famed Barbera cru Romualda, and he predicted a "good to great vintage" for growers who were spared hail damage.

?Ferdinando Principiano; Fonterenza | Nebbiolo did well in Barolo, but Montalcino's Sangiovese suffered badly

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Optimism is in shorter supply however in Tuscany, where Montalcino bore the brunt of the damage.

"It's a vintage for thinking outside the box," said Francesca Padovani who grows grapes for her family's Fonterenza estate in southeastern Montalcino. She has not yet decided whether or not she would bottle her top-label Brunello di Montalcino.

At least one of Montalcino's major wineries has publicly stated that it will not bottle a riserva wine for 2014. And one grower, who asked to remain anonymous because of the delicate nature of the situation, said that many estates are skipping the vintage altogether.

In Bolgheri, "seven months of rain fell in the month of July alone," according to Le Macchiole owner, Cinzia Merli. But growers were aided by the coastal appellation's well-aerated growing sites, she noted. Thicker-skinned grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot fared well, while varieties like Syrah suffered from the excessive humidity.

In Chianti Classico, where most growers have completed harvest, "the warmer weather in the last two weeks helped with the final stages of ripening," reported Coltibuono's Robert Stucchi. Potential alcohol levels are lower than usual, he said, and the winery will produce less of its riserva than in most years. But "overall quality is good."

( Article from http://www.wine-searcher.com,http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/10/mixed-fortunes-for-italy-s-harvest)