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Issue 614 - January 30th - February 3rd 2023 - Expressly created for 4.442 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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The distribution of quality wines closed 2022 on a growing trend, in Italy and abroad, thanks to the markets that have been exceptional performers, even beyond the larger ones, and with the recovery of the Horeca channel, despite the specter of the return of Covid, war, and inflation. The turnovers of some of the most important players in the sector have confirmed it, from the Meregalli Group to Sagna, from Cuzziol GrandiVini to Edoardo Freddi International. And who, on the strength of their numbers and in line with the most popular trends among wine consumers, are looking to 2023 with equally positive sentiment (in more detail). |
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The Italian wine world agenda is more and more about mergers, acquisitions and ownership transfers. And, wine territories are at the center of this phenomenon. According to the analysis by CBRE (Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis), world leader in consultancy and investments in commercial real estate, Brunello di Montalcino stands out, where 16.1% of all transactions in Italy between 2016 and 2022 took place (of which we told recently), followed by Barolo, Prosecco, Etna, Chianti Classico and Bolgheri. The intense investment activity can be interpreted in several ways. The people who want to buy in the area nurture a very high interest because they are attracted by its prestige and profitability, while at the same time there are many wineries waiting for just the right offer to change ownership. This is a “win-win” situation because whoever wants to buy is confident that they are investing in an area of absolute top value. Montalcino seems impervious to market crises for its wine, and its land values are not only stable but growing (we are talking about figures between 750.000 euros and 1 million euros for one hectare of Brunello vines today). Furthermore, those who sell do so at market values that have grown significantly over the years (in half a century, according to WineNews estimates, the revaluation of the Brunello vineyards for an estimated value of the Brunello vineyard was +4,500%). In any case, it is one of the phenomena that is redesigning the future of Brunello di Montalcino, by now a great classic of Italian and world wine. Which, if on the one hand, is immutable in its faith in 100% Sangiovese both for the Brunello and for the Rosso di Montalcino (yet to find its image but not as a younger brother, ed), and in not wanting to expand its size, with a closed register of vineyards (since 1997 it has 2,100 ha of Brunello and 510 ha of Rosso di Montalcino), on the other, its physiognomy is in constant ferment, both in terms of ownership, with companies and vineyards subject to continuous sales and changes, and that with the new generations of producers, often “offspring” of a wine dynasty that launches new projects, and from a “positioning” point of view, as some wineries are moving their vineyards to higher and higher altitudes, to confront the effects of climate change and global warming (in more detail). |
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If in Europe and in Italy the front of “no” to the introduction of “health warning” on the labels of alcoholic beverages decided by Ireland widens, is growing, those in favor of the provision and its basic idea continue to support their reasons, that is, that alcohol consumption tout court (as the Italian Society of Alcoholics, in more detail), and not abuse, is bad for the health. So much so that, according to “Irish diplomatic sources” cited by Ansa, the process is going ahead. “The Dublin decision follows national legislation of 2018, which anticipated the very positive position taken by the EU Commission on a similar measure in the Plan to beat cancer, therefore, for us the lack of opposition from Brussels represents another important step to adopt these standards. We don’t have precise dates yet, but the government is working on it and we will go on”. |
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If French wine is capable of doubling the economy of Italian wine, much of the credit goes to a distribution network. The oldest and the most important is La Place de Bordeaux. Where Tuscany and Piedmont have carved out an increasingly relevant space for themselves, as evidenced by the new entry of the iconic Barolo and Barbaresco di Ceretto, among the most reputable brands of the Langhe. For the winery led by Roberta Ceretto, it is a new page in its global commercial history. Giacomo Borgogno & Figli, led by Andrea Farinetti, has also entrusted the global distribution of its Barolo crus to Place. It all began in 2009, when the Place welcomed the first Italian wine: Masseto 2006. Today on the Place there are Frescobaldi’s Ornellaia, Antinori’s Tignanello and Cervaro della Sala, Colore of Bibi Graez, Galatrona of Petrolo, and Caiarossa. In 2018, the Orma di Sette Ponti entered, and then in 2019, the first Brunellos, with the wines of Luce della Vite (Frescobaldi) and Giodo. More recent entries are that of Etna Rosso of Giovanni Rosso, Barolo Cerequio 2018 of Michele Chiarlo, I Sodi di S. Niccolò of Castellare di Castellina, and the crus of Allegrini, La Poja and Fieramonte. |
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A territory to be discovered, characterized by hills with a thousand shades of color, rich in ancient villages, where the vine draws the landscape, set between the Adriatic Sea and the massifs of the Gran Sasso d’Italia and the Majella: Abruzzo, elected by Wine Enthusiast – one of the leading international magazines- “Region of the Year”, was celebrated at the “Wine Star Awards” ceremony at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The US market is the second for imports of Abruzzo wines, with 14% of the total. |
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The German market is essentially stable, with 20 million hectoliters of wine consumed every year. According to Istat data, imports from Italy in the first 10 months of 2022 reached 955 million euros (+5%), out of a total of 2.2 billion euros (-4.4%), as emerges from the data of Wine Monitor by Nomisma. In terms of volume, the decline was even more marked -10%, while, in terms of value, it represents a market share of 47% in the still and sparkling wines segment. Among the most consumed Italian wines in the last year, Prosecco (by 54% of consumers), Lambrusco (38%), Chianti Classico (34%), Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (26%), Primitivo (24 %), Lugana (22%), Soave (19%), Barolo (18%), Amarone della Valpolicella (17%) and Brunello di Montalcino (16%). |
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Valpolicella is one of the most important and performing areas of Italian wine. Land of great reds, where a new Unesco recognition for Italian wine could soon arrive. Because perhaps, already within the first half of 2025, under the heading of “Unesco Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, it could be added, thanks to Valpolicella’s centuries-old, original, and ritual technique with which its great wines are born: the drying. Argument at the basis of “Amarone Opera Prima 2023” signed by Consortium of Valpolicella wines (today and tomorrow, Verona). |
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