According to a report published on Monday by the Sole 24 Ore (Italy’s “Financial Times”), Italian winegrowers are predicting crop losses of up to 40 percent in peronospora-affected areas in central and southern Italy.

Abruzzo, Molise, and Marche are among the regions most impacted by the presence of the downy mildew. But Marche, Puglia, Basilicata, Umbria, Latium, Tuscany, and Sicily, and Tuscany are also mentioned among the regions where growers are experiencing significant drops in production.

The Sole 24 Ore report is based on data published this month by the wine industry trade unions Assoenologi and Unione Italiana Vini together with Ismea, a branch of the the Italian ministry of agriculture.

Organic farmers have been acutely impacted according to authors the report.

The outbreak of vine disease is blamed on heavy rainfall late spring. They brought much needed water. But the lingering humidity created challenging conditions in the vineyards.

The Sole 24 Ore article has been widely cited this week in Italy’s mainstream and wine industry-focused media.

Above: Plasmopara viticola aka Peronospora viticola (via Wikipedia Creative Commons).