Vinitaly Verona, Italys most important annual wine fair, reports a record year for Italian wines . In 2010, Italys wine exportation market increased by 11.7% to a total of 20 million hectolitres, making Italy the worlds leading wine exporter. One in three bottles of Italian wine produced went abroad, with new markets, such as China and Russia, chalking up increases of 145% and 69% respectively.
The good news offsets the bad news that the domestic market has declined, mainly due to the fact that Italians are no longer drinking table wine with their meals as in the past, thanks, according to the Confederation of Italian Agriculture (CIA), to misplaced fears of health repercussions and alcoholism.
Wine is one of Italys important industries, with over 250,000 wineries, employing over 1.2 million people, including a large number of immigrant workers. The production of Prosecco sparkling wine alone employs immigrants of 53 different nationalities. The 500,000 Italian vineyards employ 210,000 workers, of which 50,000 are young and 30,000 are foreigners.
