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Issue 537 - August 9th - 13th 2021 - Expressly created for 4.250 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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Politics, market, marketing, research and, above all, Italian wine, at the center: this is the outline of the Congress n. 75 of Assoenologi, in Verona, on 4 and 5 December 2021 (and streaming), in the organization’s 130th anniversary. The stars will be “modern winemakers, who are the true and most important ambassadors of today’s wine”, Riccardo Cotarella, president of Italian oenologists, told WineNews offering some previews. Awaited the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, attended the Ministers of Agriculture, Stefano Patuanelli, Tourism, Massimo Garavaglia, and Culture, Dario Franceschini. |
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There are many themes that wine is facing these days, starting from sustainability, both environmental and social, in the vineyard and in the cellar, passing through the value of organic and biodynamic production and another hot topic, that of the alcohol content, which increases as temperatures rise, even where, normally, it has never been a problem, and again, the role and weight of brands in the dynamics that face territories and denominations. But it is from the universal and transversal one of sustainability, a value requested by consumers and the trade and on which producers are working hard, that Monica Larner, one of the most authoritative journalists and wine critics, and signature for Italy of the prestigious “Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate”, takes her cue, in her interview with WineNews, as it was precisely “The Wine Advocate” that thought of enhancing it with the “Robert Parker Green Emblem”, which, in its first edition, awarded symbolic wineries of Italian viticulture such as the Sicilian Tasca d’Almerita, Alois Lageder in Alto Adige and Salcheto in the land of Nobile di Montepulciano. “It is a project we have been working on for more than two years, because we felt the need to do it, for many reasons. The first one is that it is part of the quality of wine and of what producers themselves see in their product, which is always the reflection of a territory, of soils to be protected and vineyards through which to protect healthy ecosystems, both for the product and for the world of wine as a whole”, explains Monica Larner. Viticulture of the future must be sustainable, both from an environmental as well as economic and social point of view, balance wineries must aim to achieve “by looking at many different aspects”, Monica Larner resumes. “Starting from the management of the winery itself, but it is always necessary to have an eye on the social dimension, keeping in mind the reality that surrounds us, creating harmony between those who work in the vineyard and the products and materials that are used in the winery, with an approach that starts from the bottom to point up and vice versa and that includes and involves the whole supply chain, in order to make the best of a company’s sustainability project ” (the complete interview in the in-depth analysis). |
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For 21 years WineNews has been reporting, every day, the world of wine, agriculture, catering and wine tourism. In recent years, WineNews has focused more and more on social channels (reached the quota of 120,870 followers): in addition to the already “old” YouTube and Twitter, with 21,974 followers, in May 2018 arrived the subscription to Facebook, with 59,468 followers, followed, in August 2019, by the opening of the Instagram profile, with 39,387 followers. Now it’s LinkedIn’s turn. “For years we have been telling about wine to a variegated audience - underlines WineNews director, Alessandro Regoli - made of wine and food lovers as well as producers, managers, wine shop owners and experts. On LinkedIn we want to open a new communication channel with this professional audience, even more profiled, with a selection of news, interviews and ad hoc contents”. |
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The good news for Italian wine is that the difficulties on foreign markets seem to be over: one and a half years after the first lockdowns, the figures show a substantial return to normality. The exceptional news is that practically all the most important countries for Italian wine exports are growing in the first five months of 2021. As it emerges from Istat data, updated at the end of May and analyzed by WineNews, in the period January-May 2021, the total shipments of Italian wineries reached 2.689 billion euros, an increase of +11.2% compared to the same period in 2020, when the boom of US imports in the first two months of the year was counterbalanced by the effect of the forced closures in March and April. Better even than the first 5 months of 2019 (+6.3%), when Italian wine exports reached 6.4 billion euros: if in the coming months the third wave of Covid-19 can be managed without new restrictions, the Italian wine export record becomes decidedly, and somewhat resoundingly, within reach. The USA (+8.7%) and Germany (+5.6%) did well, the UK is still down (-7.2%), while China (+80%) and Russia (+42.5%) are soaring. |
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As of July 31, 2021, in the cellars of the Belpaese, there were 42 million hectoliters, in line with the figure of July 29, 2020, in addition to 3.1 million hectoliters of must (-12.9% compared to a year ago) and 81,603 hectoliters of new wine still in fermentation (+131.4% over the same period of 2020). This is stated by the data of the report “Cantina Italia” of the Ministry of Agriculture, which underlines how Veneto is as always the “richest” region of wine in the cellar ahead of Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Puglia and Piedmont. |
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In the hardest months of the pandemic, with an overall wine market in crisis, the fine wine collection segment experienced no setbacks at all. At least looking at the Liv-Ex 1000, the broader index of Liv-Ex, the reference platform of the secondary market for fine luxury wines that have experienced 11 months of uninterrupted growth, from August 2020 to July 2021, and +6.85% increase since the beginning of the year. And if in 2020, Italy 100, the index dedicated to Italian fine wines, led the growth, now Italy is the region growing less than the others, even though it has grown a hefty +3.8% since the beginning of the year. Stepping on the accelerator instead are especially Burgundy 150, up +9.8%, Champagne 50, at +8.5%, while Bordeaux is soaring: Bordeaux 500 at +5.05%. |
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On either side of the Alps, what matters is that the grapes cultivated in the mountains, native and International varieties, are used together to make wines that are the quintessence of European offshore winemaking: the idea comes from Helena and Clemens Lageder, the newest generation at the helm of Tenuta Alois Lageder, that has launched the Terra Alpina project. Two wines, Terra Alpina Bianco, a blend of Chardonnay, Muller Thurgau, Garganega, Welschriesling and Pinot Grigio, and Terra Alpina Rosso, a blend of Schiava, Carignan, Grenache del Rousillon, Lagrein and Merlot. |
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