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Issue 749 - September 1st - 5th 2025 - Expressly created for 3672 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | The “taste of travel” can also be experienced in an original way by train, with Treni Turistici Italiani (Ferrovie dello Stato Group) offering a special “Espresso Langhe e Monferrato” service, departing from Rome (on October 10, 17, and 31) and arriving in Alba (with return journeys on October 12, 19, and November 2), on the occasion of the 95th “Fiera Internazionale Tartufo Bianco d’Alba” in the Langhe, home of this “jewel” of the earth and iconic wines, from Barolo to Barbaresco. And with the “Espresso Siena”, from Rome (September 27, October 4, November 1), you leave the capital for the city of the Palio (returning the following day), crossing Versilia and the vineyards of Val d’Orcia.
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| | While Italian wine exports remained stable overall worldwide in the first five months of 2025, according to Istat data, things are generally not going badly for the global wine trade in the first six months of the year, according to Nomisma’s Wine Monitor Report edited by Denis Pantini, if we look at the 12 most important international markets (US, UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, China, Switzerland, France, Australia, Norway, Brazil, and South Korea, customs data), with Italian wine recording overall growth of +1.5% in value (€2.8 billion) and +2.1% in volume (703.5 million liters), outperforming the average of +1.4% in value (€10.6 billion in total wine imports from all countries) and -1.3% in volume (2.8 billion liters). The United States remains the main market, but the end of stockpiling by importers in anticipation of the Trump administration's tariffs saw a sharp decline in the second quarter. According to Nomisma, this trend has also affected purchases of Italian wines: the change for the first half of the year appears positive (+2.5%, for €1.05 billion and 188.9 million liters, +7.5%) only thanks to the accumulation that occurred in the first three months of the year. Canada performed well, with imports from Italy growing by almost 11% (€206.3 million for 35.7 million liters), benefiting from the replacement of US wines on the shelves (in retaliation for Trump's tariff measures), which fell by over 65%. Italian wines also performed very well in Germany (+10.3% in value in the first six months, for €522 million, and 223.2 million liters, +1.8%). On the other hand, the United Kingdom performed poorly, down 7.3% in value (€452.5 million), as did Switzerland (-3.6% €202.5 million), France (-5.6% €113.2 million), Norway (€52.8 million, -4.1%), China (€45.1 million, -8.5%), and South Korea (€25.2 million, -5.9%). Among those seeing growth in Italian wine imports is Japan, up +0.7% in the first six months of 2025 compared to 2024 (€87.1 million), but also Australia (+7.1%, €31.9 million) and Brazil (+7.9%, €18.4 million). | |
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| | While it is true, as we have been writing for some time, that investing in fine wines at this point in history has become rather complex in general, it is also true that, even in this negative overall context, there are always individual labels that are growing and worth investing in, if selected with the right expertise. These are suggested by the specialized portal WineCap. Among the names from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne, the “blue chips” of Italian wine include the big names from Bolgheri, such as Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido, Ornellaia, and Masseto from the Frescobaldi group. But among the recent “high flyers” from Italy are wines from Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, Le Macchiole, Gaja, Cascina Fontana, and Marion. | |
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| | | The current situation for the wine market is not the best, but a “cultural beverage” that has accompanied humanity for millennia has a long future ahead of it, and there are those who believe in it and continue to invest in it, with a particular focus on wine tourism. One such investor is Tommasi Family Estates, the Tommasi family’s wine group, one of the most important in Italy, with over 800 hectares of vineyards and a turnover of €31.9 million in 2024. The group’s heart is in Valpolicella, but it has eight wine estates in seven regions - Tommasi in Veneto, including the jewel Villa De Buris, Tenuta di Caseo in Lombardy, Casisano in Montalcino and Poggio al Tufo in the Tuscan Maremma, Masseria Surani in Puglia, Paternoster in Basilicata, a project in Umbria in Orvieto, the acquisition of Ammura, an estate on Mount Etna in Sicily in 2022, and partnerships in Chianti Classico with La Massa and in Friuli Venezia Giulia in Collio with Marco Felluga Russiz Superiore. And now it is also expanding in Puglia, with the acquisition of two prestigious estates in Salento, namely Tenuta Eméra in Lizzano and Cantina Moros in Guagnano, created by winemaker Claudio Quarta, who, according to a statement, “after a long and prestigious career, has announced his retirement”, entrusting the two estates to the Tommasi family. | |
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| | | The season of international guides and rankings opens with James Suckling’s “Top 100 Wines of Italy” 2025 (in more detail), which speaks, in summary, of “a return to value, authenticity, and altitude”. In the ranking, the best Italian wine overall is Etna Rosso San Lorenzo 2023 from Tenuta delle Terre Nere, followed at No. 2 by Pieropan’s Soave Classico La Rocca 2023 and at No. 3 by Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona’s Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso 2020. | |
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| | No wine market, for Italy and beyond, can replace the United States, where it is essential to continue investing, despite tariffs. Nevertheless, as many have been saying for years, it is strategic to diversify target markets, and many are focusing on the Mercosur area. This brings the EU closer to ratifying the free trade agreement that has been on the table for a long time and has been given the green light by the EU Commission, marking a significant step forward pending the vote by the Council and European Parliament (expected within the year). This news is welcomed by most of the EU wine industry, as explained by the CEEV - European Committee of Wine Enterprises (of which Unione Italiana Vini - Uiv and Federvini are members for Italy), but less so by the Italian agricultural sector (in more detail). | |
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| | BolognaFiere has been investing in wine for years and is increasingly becoming a hub of reference for the galaxy of small Italian producers and wine artisans. It did so first with its partnership with Slow Wine Fair and Slow Food, and then with Fivi-Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti, which has been staging the Mercato dei Vini (Wine Market) for three editions, as it will do again in 2025, from November 15 to 17, and will continue to do so until 2028, given that the Federation has renewed an agreement for the next three years. | |
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