If this message is not displayed correctly click here
|
Issue 494 - October 12th - 16th 2020 - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The “Winery of the Year” is Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo, the “Cooperative of the Year” is San Michele Appiano, while the best “Red Wine” is Barolo Ornato 2016 by Pio Cesare. The wine with the best “Quality/Price Ratio” is the Friuli Pinot Banco 2019 of Vigneti Le Monde, led by Alex Maccan (photo), the “Emerging Winery” is Ridolfi, young reality of the Brunello di Montalcino, while for the “Sustainable Viticulture” stands out the Sicilian Firriato: they are among the most important special awards of the “Italian Wines” Guide 2021 by Gambero Rosso, with all the wines awarded with the “Three Glasses”, at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome (until October 18th). |
|
|
|
|
The “Covid-19 semester” (March-August 2020) also weighs on the world wine trade, with an unprecedented contraction in the modern history of the sector. In non-EU countries - according to the elaborations of the Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor on a customs basis - the overall wine trade in the semester under consideration decreased by 15.2%, with a loss of 1.4 billion euros compared to the same period in 2019. The most significant decrease is related to bubbles (-28.8%), which “flattened” by the lockdown lose share in all 10 top importers, representing 92% of the non-EU market. In all this, Italian wine, although recording the worst result in the last thirty years, manages to contain the losses and to close the semester of health emergency at -8.6%, after an excellent start of the year. In the first two months, the trend was in fact +14.5%. The United States and Switzerland, respectively the first and third destinations for Italian wine, are the countries that have contributed to making the glass less bitter. On the one hand, in the USA (-8.1%) the performance was less dramatic than in France (-40.1%), which was cut by duties; on the other hand, Switzerland even went into positive territory (+7.5%). The difference in the final calculation of the semester between the 2 world production superpowers also lies in China, which marks an increasingly inclined plane (-38%) for both but whose weights, and their repercussions, are very different. In the end, so, if Italy does not laugh (-8.6%), France cries bitter tears (-27.7%). The United Kingdom market is also in crisis, where the Brexit clouds are also thickening: -9.5% for Italy and -21.6% for France. The semester also had a significant impact in terms of market share in the extra-EU among the 2 market leaders, with France losing 5 points and dropping to 29.3% while Italy rose to 23.5%. Overall, the value of wine imports into third countries in the period amounted to 7.7 billion euros, compared to 9.1 billion euros recorded in the same period of 2019. The top 10 buyers considered and all the top 5 non-EU importers were 8 out of the top 10: USA (-20.7%), UK (-6.8%), China (-35.5%), Canada (-7.9%) and Japan (-17.5%). |
|
|
|
|
The scam foiled by the Finance Police in Florence against the Sassicaia of the Tenuta San Guido of the Incisa della Rocchetta family - which, together with the director Carlo Paoli, has been investing to guarantee the authenticity of its bottles for years - has caused a sensation, of course, with the police forces that have blocked, before they entered the market, more than a thousand cases of the most famous Italian wine in the world. “In the negativity of this news, there is also an opportunity to thank the Finance Police - comments to WineNews, Alessandro Berlingieri, CEO of Tenuta San Guido - for the fantastic work they did. And then, there is the pride of being part of a team that is very attentive to the quality of the product and to the details necessary to identify the product from what may be a counterfeit. It is a work that we have been doing for years now, with great care”. |
|
|
|
|
|
Patricia Tóth, oenologist of the Sicilian brand Planeta, competing for the title of Winemaker of the Year; Mario Piccini, at the helm of the historic Chianti Piccini reality, and with Tenute Piccini now rooted in territories such as Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Maremma, on Etna in Sicily and in Vulture in Basilicata, competing as Wine Executive of the Year; Trentino, with its “mountain bubbles” of TrentoDoc and not only, competing as Wine Region of the Year; Le Chiuse, among the brands of Brunello di Montalcino, candidate to be European Winery of the Year; Attilio Persia, agronomist of the Lungarotti wineries, among the reference points of Italian wine and sustainability, the first winery in Umbria certified with the Viva protocol by the Ministry of the Environment, as possible Viticulturist of the Year; Dalla Terra Winery Direct, Californian reality that imports Italian wine brands such as Alois Lageder, Selvapiana, Tasca d'Almerita and Vietti, among the Importers of the Year: there is a lot of Italy among the nominations for the “Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards”, awarded every year by the famous American magazine “Wine Enthusiast”, whose “Italian editor” is Kerin O’Keefe. The winners will be unveiled at the traditional gala dinner, at the end of January, which, in 2021, as the pandemic has accustomed us to see, will be “virtual”. |
|
|
|
|
|
“The restoration work has been completed, and, thanks to a private, and millionaire investment, the Renaissance winery now houses a truly prestigious collection: Brunello di Argiano historical reserves, all vintages from the 1960s to today, and wineries that have made the history of the Denomination and its territory”. This is what Bernardino Sani, CEO and oenologist of the Estate, tells WineNews. An estate that, in the future, could host a real museum on the history of Argiano and the territory of the Brunello di Montalcino. |
|
|
|
|
Wine must be produced from at least 70% of grapes grown directly at the winery, without using synthetic chemicals in the vineyard, treating the environment in a “conscious and sustainable” way, limiting irrigation to a minimum. The buildings must be built and renovated with a view to sustainability, while wines must mirror as much as possible the territories, even in the use of indigenous yeasts, but without defects that do not enhance the differences and the sulfur content must not be higher than that required by the EU regulation for organic wine. Furthermore, the winemaker must collaborate with the entire agricultural community in which he operates, encouraging biodiversity. These, in a nutshell, are the principles to follow in “The Slow Food Manifesto”. |
|
|
|
|
Among the sales channels of wine & spirits most affected by the pandemic there is, of course, that of duty free and travel retail. A channel that, in 2020, collapsed with an overall drop of -60% recorded until August 2020 (data from International Wine & Spirit Research). A channel that has its champions, with Italy represented by Prosecco Bottega, the only Italian brand among the top 10 best-selling wine brands in the travel retail sector (in 2019), and n. 2 absolute in terms of bubbles, behind one of the biggest realities of Champagne, such as Moet & Chandon. |
|
|
|
|
