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Issue 677 - April 15th - 19th 2024 - Expressly created for 4731 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | Wine for Italy, has not only economic value, but “is history and culture” and “is a fundamental part of our identity as Italians”. This was reiterated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni interviewed on her official visit to Vinitaly 2024 by WineNews, which crossed paths with the Premier on her brief “journey” through Italian wine, among producers from all the Italian regions present at the world's benchmark event for the sector. And to whom we also asked whether Italian wine today is more in need of protection or promotion. And President Meloni’s answer was pleonastic: “of both”.
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| | Meanwhile, the numbers, which speak of a sector that has a significant weight for Italy, and therefore 16 billion euros in turnover 2022, 8 billion in exports, 74,000 workers, an added value of 14.8 billion euros activating different supply chains with a multiplier effect of 4.1 for the country. This is the “radiography” of Italian wine according to data processed by the Federvini Observatory in collaboration with Nomisma and Tradelab, a sector that proves to be strategic but that cannot, at the same time, allow itself to sit on its laurels, because, and this was the second key point of the meeting promoted by Federvini and staged at Vinitaly 2024, consumption is changing driven by the new generations that are increasingly close to low/no-alcohol products, from the U.S. to Great Britain and Germany. However, the challenge, which has already opened up, is that of the fast-moving market: wine is central, with 819 million consumptions (including sparkling wines), 19% of total beverages (excluding water consumption) and 33% among spirits. Overall, wine, “unbundled” from sparkling wines, in consumptions touches 587 million (72%) with white at 35% (another sign of changing consumption, ed.), red at 33% and rosé at 4%. Sparkling wines rise to 233 million (28%) with the consumption trend, in the comparison between 2022 and 2023, growing by 1% (bubbles good at +7%). A challenge, that of the out-of-home market, to be won in differentiating the marketing mix by consumption occasions and channel. And then there is that of the interpretation of new consumption: 45% of Italians, young people in primis, are convinced that the phenomenon of low alcohol content will affect beverage consumption in the coming years. The U.S. market, in the last 10 years, has seen wine stable (11%, +1%), growth is among non-alcohol wines, +16% in volume and +52% in value (44.3 million euros). In Germany, where non-alcoholic wine scores +6% in volume and +17% in value, no-alcohol sparkling wine is going strong, worth 57.4 million euros; in Uk, wine consumption, in the last decade, has dropped 5%, while no-alcohol, between 2021 and 2023 is at +6%.
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| | The wine sector needs positive signals, and that is starkly what comes from Istat data published today, in the midst of Vinitaly 2024, and analyzed by WineNews on January 2024 exports, at 539 million euros worldwide, with a promising +13, 5% over the same month of 2023 (which then closed at -0.8% in value, to €7.8 billion), supported by a nice +11.2% in volume, to 150.5 million liters (in line with the sentiment we gathered among Italian producers, before and during the industry’s benchmark world event, in Verona). A figure that gives hope for a resumption of the race of Italian exports in the world. | |
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| | | The Marquis of wine, one of the architects of the “Renaissance” of Italian wine, “Piero The Magnificent”: words never seem to be enough to describe Piero Antinori, honorary president of Marchesi Antinori, the most admired Italian wine brand in the world, a figure of reference who made the history of world enology, revolutionizing it while respecting traditions and always looking to the future, with icon-wines such as Tignanello, which celebrates 50 years since its first vintage and, to celebrate which, the Marquis wanted to contribute to the first restoration in the history of Ponte Vecchio, symbol of Florence, to which his family has been linked since the 14th century. Last night at the Ristori Theater in Verona, all the most representative producers of Italian wine excellence, united in the Comitato Grandi Cru d’Italia, of which he was the first president, dedicated a tribute of praise and gratitude to him for what he has achieved for the entire sector. “I began to take care of the winery in 1966”, said Piero Antinori, “certainly it was a responsibility, but not a burden: considering such a long history of the family (700 years and 26 generations, ed.) I did not consider myself an owner, but a janitor, with the responsibility of bringing a contribution and passing the winery on to the next generation, in better conditions”. | |
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| | | Desire to turn into reality those small positive signals that have arrived in this first part of 2024, and to see the wine market flourish again. That’s the general sentiment that emerged from Vinitaly, with 97,000 attendees among the pavilions, with a “slight increase in foreign operators from 140 countries to 30,070, including 1,200 top buyers (+20% over 2023) from 65 nations, selected, invited and hosted by Veronafiere in collaboration with Ice Agenzia”, explain the official numbers of the Verona fair, which is already looking ahead to 2025. | |
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| | With 1.76 billion euros in 2023 exports, despite a -5.3% decline over 2022, “the U.S. market remains very important for Italian wine. Restaurants and retail stores offer vast selections of labels even beyond the classic regions. And we see that younger generations are very interested in lesser-known wines, and as they grow up they will maintain these habits. We do detect, however, a small slowdown in wine consumption, which we all need to reflect on. It is not only about bringing young people closer to wine, but also about creating a connection between food and wine: we all eat several times a day and can find the right time for a good glass of wine. This represents the right approach”. This is the trend highlighted, face-to-face with WineNews, by Alison Napjus, Senior Editor & Tasting Director of the influential American magazine “Wine Spectator”, from Vinitaly 2024. | |
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| | For the government, alcohol-free wines should not be called wine. Legislation to produce them in Italy will be found, but there will be no incentives to promote them, reiterated Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida several times. In the market, however, dealcolati wines are growing in double digits (they interest 36% of Italians). The fact is that Italian companies are calling for a change of pace, to be able to produce in Italy what they are now forced to do outside national borders. Reflections arrived, at Vinitaly, from research by Swg and the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory.
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