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Issue 690 - July 15th - 19th 2024 - Expressly created for 4816 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | Between Europe’s largest Archaeological Park, Selinunte, and the vineyard closest to the sea in the world, just a stone’s throw, literally, from the Belice River Mouth Nature Reserve, the 2024 Italian grape harvest has officially started. It is Settesoli, one of Sicily’s and Italy’s most important wineries, a cooperative with 6,000 hectares of vineyards, that is kicking off, with Pinot Grigio, a journey through the rows of Italy, which is getting longer and longer due to climate change, beginning in the summer with the earliest varieties in the warmest territories, and ending in the fall, with the later varieties and the coldest territories, emblematic of Italian wine variety.
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| | The Italian wine market in the world, having arrived at the “halfway mark” of the first four-month period of 2024, continues its march with a plus sign in front, showing a certain vitality and looking to the future with confidence, in the knowledge that there are still many difficulties. In the period from January to April 2024, Italian wine exports, globally, exceeded 2.5 billion euros (+7% in value over the same period in 2023) and 690.76 million liters (+5.8 % in volume over the first four months of 2023). In the last quarterly survey, the figure was +3.8% in value and +3.2% in volume. From the Istat data updated and analyzed by WineNews, it can be seen that the United States maintains its leadership in terms of Italian wine imports with 626 million euros (+6% on the figure for the same period in 2023, with a surge on the +2.2% in March), ahead of Germany, which, with 375.6 million euros (+1.9%), is the first European partner and the second worldwide, recovering the negative figure (-2.2%) recorded in March. Completing the podium is the United Kingdom, the country that among the “bigs” makes the biggest leap forward (+11.5%) with about 246.5 million euros of imports, continuing a remarkable growth trend. The first negative “bulletin” is with Switzerland (-3.3%), worth €130.7 million, while Canada continues its ascent (+11.4%) with €115.7 million of imports in the four-month period. Russia boomed from 45.5 million euros in imports to 102.8 million in the first four months (+125.7%) compared to a year ago. It still goes down France (-6.4%) with just over 100 million euros of export value for Italy, well the Netherlands (+5.9%, 79.3 million euros), stable Belgium (69.87 million euros). Closing the “top ten” is Sweden with 63.6 million euros in value in the first four months (-3.3%). Chapter Asia: Japan exceeds 61.2 million euros in imports with +14.15% compared to a year ago; China, on the other hand, progressed little (+1.2%), totaling, in value, 29.3 million euros. Worth noting, at the overall level, is the growth of the category “sparkling wines made from fresh grapes” (+11.2%) for a value of 684 million euros, driven by the Prosecco Dop phenomenon (+11.2%), which, with 519 million euros, covers about one-fifth of Italian wine imports in the world. | |
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| | In the summer that is par excellence the season of “catchphrases”, musical and otherwise, the mantra, looking at wine consumption, seems to be “purity”. Wine watchword identified by Partesa, of the Heineken Italia Group, a leader in sales, distribution, consulting and training services for the horeca channel. And according to whose observatory, “wine lovers continue to demand single varietals and Denominations that best express all the nuances of the lands of origin, with preferences, driven also by the heat and pairings with lighter dishes, for white wines with a modern style, good acidity and great drinkability. Sparkling wines are also on the rise, starting with Italian Metodo Classico wines”. But queen of the summer will be beer, with the boom of no and low alcohol. | |
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| | | One of Italy’s most prominent families of entrepreneurs in the luxury segment is putting down roots in the land of Brunello di Montalcino: Il Borro Toscana, the estate of Ferruccio Ferragamo’s family, already among the landmarks of Valdarno di Sopra, has acquired Azienda Vinicola Pinino, one of Montalcino’s little jewels with 21 hectares, 16.2 of which are vineyards (7.6 are Brunello di Montalcino, 5.4 Rosso di Montalcino and 3.1 Sant’Antimo), in the Montosoli hill, considered one of the most prized areas of the appellation. This is a strategic operation for Il Borro, a major investment (the figures are confidential, but there are estimates of 10-12 million euros for a company, Il Pinino, that rumors have been giving on the market for several years). “We put great passion into everything we do, including our wines. We have built a very good distribution for our products”, Salvatore Ferragamo, who leads the company, with a particular focus on the wine branch, with his father Ferruccio and sister Vittoria, explains to WineNews, “and the time had come to expand our portfolio. In Tuscany, if we look at the highest excellence, the territories of Montalcino and Bolgheri come to mind, and we were presented with this offer with Pinino in Montalcino, which we seized” (more in depth).
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| | | Intesa Sanpaolo is providing more than 4 million euros to finance the development of the wineries of the Abfv Italia group, owned by Argentine businessman Alejando Bulgheroni, which in Tuscany owns Dievole in Chianti Classico, Poggio Landi in Montalcino and Tenuta le Colonne and Tenuta Meraviglia in Bolgheri. The funding will be used for accommodation and wine business development: specifically for the Dievole Wine Resort with the construction of 14 new accommodation units, and in the replanting of vineyards in Chianti Classico, Montalcino and Bolgheri. | |
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| | The market gives clear indications. In a delicate moment for wine, especially red, in the first half of this year Valpolicella, the most “contemporary”, fresh and light wine of the famous Veneto region, reached a production of almost 9.5 million bottles (+0.4% over the same period 2023), in the face of the slowdown of Amarone and Ripasso. This was reported by the socioeconomic focus presented by the Consorzio Vini Valpolicella at “Venezia Superiore” 2024, edition No. 2 of the event dedicated precisely to Valpolicella. A wine on which the Consortium is betting a lot, urging producers to make lighter wines and to lower the alcohol content, and also to serve it cold, in summer, as explained, to WineNews, by the Consortium’s president, Christian Marchesini (in more detail).
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| | Bolgheri continues to attract investment: Agricole Gussalli Beretta, owned by the Gussalli Beretta family, has acquired “a controlling stake in the Fabio Motta winery, a young and dynamic entity that has rapidly established itself in a highly competitive area, home to some of the most prestigious and historic labels on the Italian wine scene”. Transaction that, with Fabio Motta’s 9.7 hectares of vineyard, brings to 130 hectares the vineyards owned by the group in 6 wineries including Franciacorta, Chianti Classico, Barolo, Alto Adige and Colline Teramane. | |
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