The Italian wine grape harvest season has started with Pinot and Chardonnay grapes in the northern Lombardy's Franciacorta region, with experts anticipating a better year after an especially weak 2017.

The Coldiretti agricultural lobby said Friday that it's expecting a 15 percent increase in wine production this season to 4.6 billion liters (1.2 billion gallons), from 4 billion liters (over 1 billion gallons) last year.