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Issue 443 - October 21st - 25th 2019 - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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When great wine meets charity, success is assured. Like 170.000 dollars raised for “No Kid Hungry”, an organization that fights to eradicate hunger and poverty, from the auction of great wines personally selected by 12 members of Primum Familiae Vini, the association that brings together 12 of the most important “family” wineries of European wine - of which are members Marchesi Antinori, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Joseph Drouhin, Domaine Clarence Dillon, Egon Muller Scharzhof, Famille Hugel, Pol Roger, Famille Perrin, Symington Family Estates, Tenuta San Guido, Familia Torres and Vega Sicilia - auctioned at Sotheby’s, in New York. |
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After years of great growth, the Italian wine race in the U.S. seems to have lost some momentum, in a very complex scenario. As told to WineNews by Thomas Hyland, wine writer for Forbes, met at the Chicago leg of the IEM U.S. Tour of Simply Italian Great Wines. “The issues need to be read on several levels. Let’s take Nebbiolo, for instance. On the one hand, there are the great Barolos and the Barbarescos, which on the fine wine market are often valuable alternatives to the top wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. On the other, there is Langhe Nebbiolo that compared to mid-range competitors, costs much more”. Then there are names confined to a very specific category that find it difficult to emerge. “For instance, Prosecco”, said the Forbes writer, “a very big seller, but only as longs as it remains in the low price range, 10 to 12 US dollars on the shelf. This means that it is more problematic for Conegliano Valdobbiadene, which sells at much higher prices”. This opens up another issue, namely quality and price in a single denomination, “like Chianti Classico, but at a slightly higher level, and the same applies to Brunello di Montalcino. There are many producers who offer well made wines at competitive prices, but they are far from the quality peaks that certain territories deserve”. Finally, another critical aspect concerns the link between wine and territory. Often, a big name finds it hard to emerge, mainly because the region where it is produced is not very well known. “For instance, Verdicchio, which is an extraordinary wine that I love very much, comes to mind”, said the wine writer, “a white wine that has a unique aging capacity, yet if you find two wines on the wine lists in New York and Chicago restaurants, it is a miracle. This is because people know Tuscany, Piedmont, Sicily, and very little else of Italy. They know nothing about the Marche or Abruzzi regions, except that is where Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, the cheap wine served on airplanes in economy is produced”. Yet again, it seems that Italian wines are too complicated to be understood. On the good side, however, there is the fact that “the American consumer is not very loyal, and is always ready to move from one wine to another, based on what the market offers … |
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In a financial panorama that increasingly looks at wine as an investment asset, there is also “Made in Italy Fund”, the Private Equity fund of Quadrivio & Pambianco, that invests in the wine sector through Prosit Spa, a company founded by Sergio Dagnino. The objective is to create, in 3-4 years, a pole of Italian premium and super premium wineries, with a total turnover of 100 million euros, through the entry into their capital, in order to create a portfolio of Italian wine excellences to be exported worldwide. The first two companies to be included are the Apulian winery Torrevento, which, with a turnover of 12 million euros (80% of which from exports), is the first company to become part of the Gruppo Prosit, and Collalbrigo Grandi Vini, a company based in Conegliano, in the heart of the Prosecco DOCG. |
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Investing in the sustainability of the company means investing in the territory, trying to improve from the environmental point of view, supporting cultural and social activities that go far beyond the borders of their company. Concepts that make more and more breach in the modus operandi of “enlightened” wineries, that, still few, also put in on papers the results of this process, publishing their “sustainability reports that, in a way, can become real tools to think, inspired by virtuous cases, the development of the territories. From Mezzacorona to Venica, from Ruffino to Caviro, to mention a few cases, even very different from each other. Among these, there is also Castello Banfi, leader of the Brunello di Montalcino territory, which has been working on the subject for years. By setting up many actions that, in 2018, for example, led to the saving of 42,000 cubic meters of water, to the cutting of 2,000 tons of Co2 input, to the recovery of 62% of waste produced. Actions possible thanks to concrete investments, such as 1 million euros (+12% on 2017) in research and development projects. To which should be added 200,000 euros of investment (+12.5% over 2017) in sports and cultural activities open to the territory. “Sustainability is at the heart of our future”, said Cristina Mariani-May, owner of Banfi Castle. |
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After the Unesco recognition for “Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene”, the territory looks to the future, with all 29 municipalities in the area involved in the Unesco site called to sign a new urban planning specification together with the Regione Veneto, with President Luca Zaia: ““My idea has always been not to authorize new buildings for tourist hospitality, but to enhance what already exists. The real urban challenge will be to classify the small rural buildings present and allow their owners to upgrade them”. |
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The end of the year is approaching, and it’s time to treat ourselves. Maybe a big bottle of wine to share, or to invest in. The best wines to focus on, for quality, price, notoriety and perspective, are two Italians, Barolo Brunate 2010 by Giuseppe Rinaldi, and Alceo 2013 byCastello dei Rampolla, firmly at the top of the list of “Must Buy” by the specialized portal Wine-Listerwhich has just updated its ranking with over 150 new entries. Especially from Burgundy, while Italy has 31 new entries, especially from Tuscany (15, thanks mainly to Case Basse Soldera and Castello dei Rampolla) and Piedmont (14, led by Gaja). |
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Produced in “extreme” vineyards, at an altitude of more than 500 meters above sea level, where the incline of the land is more than 30%, and the vineyards are planted on terraces, characteristic of a mostly mountain viticulture, but also found on small islands: this is what “heroic” winegrowing is, as defined by Cervim, which enhances and symbolizes many areas of Italian wine, from Valtellina to Pantelleria, and it is now a candidate to become Unesco Heritage. This is the message that was relaunched at the conference in Milan, few days ago, by Cervim. |
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