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Issue 648 - September 25th - 29th 2023 - Expressly created for 4591 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | It grows and expands its horizons, “Barolo en primeur” 2023, after the success of past editions. Event that will touch three continents and open the doors of 25 wineries for the unique experience of barrel tastings: after raising nearly 1.5 million euros for 37 charity projects and initiatives, this is what “Barolo en primeur” 2023 looks like, returning on October 27 to Grinzane Cavour Castle for a major charity auction, featuring barrels from “Vigna Gustava 2020” promoted by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo and Fondazione Crc Donare Ets, in collaboration with the Consorzio di Tutela di Barolo e Barbaresco (in more detail). | |
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| | This is not the best moment for the international trade of Italian wine. Aggravating an already complicated and challenging picture, the reform of excise duties on alcohol, put in place by the Sunak government to disincentivize harmful consumption, came into effect in Britain on August 1, affecting beer, wine and spirits, safeguarding beer and especially affecting still wine, while sparkling wines will enjoy lower taxation. The results could even out for Italy in the future because out of the 380.4 million euros of wine exported, bubbles represent just under half the total: 167.8 million euros. Therefore, there are opportunities and obstacles for Italian wine producers, who are used to and have been struggling for decades in what is structurally the third destination market for Italian wine. And London, of course, is the hub by definition of consumption and trade, while the off-trade channel represents a significantly larger portion of total sales (86%). This is where the IEM - International Exhibition Management's “Simply Italian Great Wines”, led by Marina Nedic and Giancarlo Voglino, in partnership with the UK magazine, “The Drinks Business”. WineNews met Walter Speller - Italy correspondent for JancisRobinson.com - and the Master of Wine, Peter McCombie. “The key to continued success for Italian wine is quality, both for entry-level and high-quality wines. Great Britain is a market where it is essential to be present: press, wine merchants and consumers provide unique visibility, it is a springboard for many other markets”, Speller said. According to McCombie “the strength of Italian wine is also its weakness: complexity, which is exciting when approaching wines like Barolo and Chianti Classico, but can be confusing. The future, though, lies with fresher white and red wines. In addition to Prosecco and Pinot Grigio, there is much more to discover, but consumers need access to such richness”. The number one marketing tool, however, remains Italy itself, “a great tourist destination”, the Master of Wine concludes, “and the best way to create a bond with consumers is through your own wine; it must be tasted in Italy, in your company or in a restaurant, and it’s even better. We British love Italy, the most glamorous country there is, but we need to keep this bond alive”. | |
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| | To face the drop in consumption (-7.3% in the first 6 months 2023), in the USA, wine is exploiting its versatility thanks to the trend embracing wine-based cocktails and ready-to-drinks, which is increasingly established, particularly in the out-of-home. In the first half of 2023, according to the Uiv (Unione Italiana Vini) Observatory based on SipSource, wine cocktails are in fact the only positive item related to wine, with an overall trend growth of more than 3%, and with peaks of +7% in out-of-home, starting with restaurants (+1.2%), while in bars and other venues the recorded increase is in double digits. “The mixology phenomenon”, comments Agivi president Marzia Varvaglione, “is increasingly evident, and wine in this context can play a central role, which is why we need a “pop” and inclusive approach to a lifestyle category that is of interest especially to young people”. | |
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| | | After Burton Anderson, Jens Priewe and Monica Larner, top signatures of international wine journalism focused on wine Italy, now it is another No. 1 like James Suckling, longtime signature for many years at “Wine Spectator” and then become a reference point, especially in Asia, with his jamessuckling.com, to receive the “International Award” given by Istituto del Vino Italiano di Qualità Grandi Marchi. Which now, with the entry of another prestigious name such as Tenuta San Leonardo of the Guerrieri Gonzaga family in Trentino, brings together 18 wineries such as Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari Tenute, Antinori, Argiolas, Col d’Orcia, Ca’ del Bosco, Carpenè Malvolti, Donnafugata, Jermann, Lungarotti, Masi, Mastroberardino, Michele Chiarlo, Pio Cesare, Rivera, Tasca d’Almerita, Tenuta San Guido, Tenuta San Leonardo and Umani Ronchi, which, together, express a turnover of 600 million euros, more than 55% of which is abroad. A “cantor” of Italy’s great wine in the world, James Suckling, according to whom, as he explained in an interview with WineNews, “Italian wine still has many opportunities to seize in Asian markets, which are many and diverse”, Suckling said. That he is “looking for vineyard” in Sicily ... | |
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| | | Measuring the passing time with the ancient language of the Eternal City, Latin, pairing the unique beauties of the Capital to the wines that bear its name, such as those of Roma Doc: this is the philosophy behind the realization of the peculiar 2024 calendar, signed by the Consorzio Roma Doc, led by Tullio Galassini, made with the contribution of Arsial, which, in 12 unpublished photos, encloses the Consorzio’s wines, set in the most identifiable glimpses of the Capital: from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, from Tiber Island to Castel Sant’Angelo, from the Colosseum to Trastevere ...
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| | “We often talk about environmental sustainability, climate and drought. Now, however, it takes 600 liters of water to produce a liter of wine, while instead, ungrafted vines would need half that amount. Research must go in this direction, finding solutions that combat those diseases that have required the use of American rootstocks for over a century. The solutions are surely not easy to find, but not impossible, either. They must be sought out through knowledge, study, research, experimentation and continuous renewal, looking beyond the usual horizons. Then, of course, you need passion, curiosity, intuition and a pinch of genius”. Thus, from the conference “The Origins of the Vine”, staged in Grinzane Cavour Castle, enologist and researcher Donato Lanati. | |
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| | The craggy stretch of coast of the Ligurian Riviera di Levante, in the territory of La Spezia, the Cinque Terre are not just fishing villages with colourful houses, as they are mistakenly perceived by most, but the economic subsistence of this “jewel” of Italy’s Unesco World Heritage Site has always relied on land cultivation, from the vine, partly from the olive tree. And it is precisely from the vine, in the 50th anniversary of the Cinque Terre DOC, this territory wants to plan its future by bringing agriculture back to the center of a shared strategy of sustainable development. | |
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