The floods occurred after a prolonged period of drought was followed by torrential rainfall. It is estimated that in some areas of Emilia-Romagna, as much as 50cm of rain fell in a 36 hour period – approximately half of the total rainfall the region might receive over an entire year.
The south-eastern half of the region, Romagna, has borne the brunt of the floods. At the time of writing, at least 14 people are confirmed to have died as a result of the natural disaster, and 36,000 have been left homeless.
Emilia-Romagna region is also a major area for wine production, contributing 14% of Italy’s overall volume of wine produced in 2022, according to data from Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare (ISMEA). The most widely-cultivated varieties in the region are Trebbiano, Sangiovese, and Lambrusco.
Silvia Casali, owner of Tenuta Casali, near the commune of Mercato Saraceno in the south of the Emilia-Romagna, told db that herself and her family were “lucky”, though currently without access to clean water.
Casali shared that a landslip caused by the downpour had crushed some vines in the estate’s Monte Paderno vineyard. Speaking about how the damage might be repaired, she said: “Right now the situation is very dangerous, so we could not go too close. As soon as possible, we will fix the situation – cutting the trees, and fixing the soil trying to do our best to create good conditions to allow us to grow the vines.”
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