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Issue 463 - March 9th - 13th 2020 - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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That 2020 is already a very hard year for everyone, including wine, unfortunately, is a certainty. A minimum of consolation comes from the recent past, namely 2019, which despite a thousand difficulties, has nevertheless set yet another record, and yet another growth. 6.4 billion euros, according to ISTAT data, the final balance of wine exports in Italy, up by +3.2% on 2018. The US, with 1.54 billion euros (+5.5%), is confirmed as the first market in value for Italian wine, ahead of Germany, stable at 1 billion euros, and the United Kingdom, with 770 million euros, the only one among the big ones to record a drop of -5.1%. |
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The countryside follows its rhythm and doesn’t look at the Coronavirus. The seasonal operations between the rows, such as pruning, go on as usual, perhaps with some extra precautions for the health of those who work. The same thing in the cellar, for work such as racking or pumping over, because wine lives its life, and will have to be ready, when the emergency, soon or later will pass, and things will start running again. Many people stop the hospitality activities, visits to the cellar and tastings, of course, to protect the health of workers and customers, even beyond the rules established by the Government. In the meantime, for administration and office work, like everyone else, the wine companies are equipped with smart working as much as possible, re-programming holidays and shifts, just enough to keep running some activities that are alive, and that have to cope, however, fortunately, with some expeditions, especially to foreign countries, in this phase in which the Italian restaurants, and consequently in consumption of wine in the on-trade, are at a standstill, while the gdo and wine shops, thanks to domestic consumption, seem to hold up a little better. We look at the measures that the Government will take, we dialogue with the banks to find solutions that guarantee the necessary liquidity, we work with Italian customers with the maximum flexibility, avoiding sending wine to the catering industry so as not to aggravate the already complex conditions, we try to reassure foreign countries so that trade flows do not stop, we hope that Europe will strike a blow, extending the deadlines for instruments such as CMO Wine and Psr, and we look to the future. This is the picture that emerges from a WineNews survey that, to understand how the wine sector is resisting the Coronavirus crisis, has heard the opinions of many different realities, from large structured companies with modern management to very small family-run businesses, from medium-sized companies to large cooperatives, from the north to the south of Italy. Names such as Antinori, Feudi di San Gregorio, Allegrini, Masi, Planeta, Tasca d’Almerita, Arnaldo Caprai, Pio Cesare, Zymè, Le Fraghe, Marisa Cuomo, Maeli Paladin, Shenk Italian Wineries, Cantine Tollo, La Versa - Terre d’Oltrepò, Castello di Ama and Velenosi. |
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It has been explained over and over again, in every way, that Coronavirus is not transmitted through merchandise and foods, but it is still not clear to many. The Ministry of Agriculture had to intervene to release the foodstuffs blocked on the border with Slovenia, and of course wine came up, as well. Requests came from the Italian winemakers, led by Riccardo Cotarella. Assoenologi discussed this issue with the leading representatives of the medical community. They came to the conclusion that it is impossible for the virus to survive in wine, as the simultaneous combination of alcohol, a hypotonic environment and polyphenols, prevents the virus from living and multiplying. Contamination of packaging is also not possible. Moderate wine consumption contribute to better hygiene of the mouth and pharynx, the areas where viruses nestle”. |
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The Coronavirus scenario changes rapidly, and now involves the whole world. Impossible, in any case, to be certain. As, coming to our sector, on the Vinitaly affair, which VeronaFiere, after several meetings in the past weeks (which, however, at this stage, seem to be eras) with representatives of the sector, has decided to move from the traditional period of April, to mid-June, from 14 to 17, in Verona. This decision was initially shared. Then, first, the Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti (Fivi), officially asked VeronaFiere to skip 2020, and go to 2021. And Federvini’s request to think of a different event also came, because, said the President of the Wine Group Piero Mastroberardino, “there are no conditions to ensure exhibitors and participants an international level event in the wake of the history of Vinitaly. The professionalism and authority of VeronaFiere must be channelled towards initiatives to relaunch the sector”. In the meantime, Veronafiere has written to exhibitors explaining that everything is being done to guarantee “the maximum possible effectiveness of the event” and that constant checks will be carried out over the next few days, “with the priority objective of safeguarding and exploiting the investments” of companies. |
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“Nature is able to create great things, you just have to wait”: it's enclosed in the words of Franco Biondi Santi, its creator and to whom the essence of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2012 by Biondi-Santi, the brand that invented Brunello at the end of the nineteenth century at Tenuta Greppo, today owned by the French Epi group, at the top of the world for international critics with the recognition of 100/100 of “Wine Enthusiast”, is dedicated. For Kerin O’Keefe, one of the most famous wine tasters, Italian Editor of the American magazine, “it's the Biondi-Santi Riserva par excellence”. |
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“As soon as we get out of the tunnel, we’re going to have to do an extraordinary worldwide marketing operation to relaunch the country. And as we use Fiorello today to convince Italians to stay at home and respect the rules, we will have to do the same with Bocelli, Valentino Rossi, Cristoforetti, Muti or Renzo Piano, that is, with the most respected Italians to convince the citizens of the world to come to Italy, that the virus is gone, that we are always the cleanest country, from restaurants to hotels, and that the Colosseum, Venice, Florence, the Langhe and the vineyards are still there. And we will have to invest a lot of money”. Oscar Farinetti told WineNews, a symbol of the “visionary optimism” that is part of the history of Italy, about the Coronavirus emergency. |
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Investing in luxury wine has been, for years, especially in recent times, one of the most profitable strategies ever, while instead in 2019 the pace has slowed down somewhat. Even though growth was only +1% compared to 2018, it was much better than investments in vintage cars and jewelry, which dropped -7%, but instead worse than investments focusing on stamps (+ 6%) fine whiskeys (+ 5%), art (+ 5%), rare coins (+ 3%), watches (+ 2%), and above all, luxury bags (+ 13%). These are the data revealed in “The Wealth Report” 2020 by the Knight Frank. |
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