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Issue 484 - August 3rd - 7th 2020 - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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The vineyard, and the wine, signed by Riccardo Cotarella, president of the Italian Oenologists and the Union Internationale des Enologues, as the flagship of an impressive project, born to reconnect one of the most important entrepreneurs of Italian fashion, Brunello Cucinelli, to his homeland, Umbria. That of Brunello Cucinelli is the closing of a circle, at the end there are seven hectares planted with Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The first vintage, 2018, will be on the market in 2021: a single label, in the bottle after a single passage in new woods. And that will be unveiled by Brunello Cucinelli and Riccardo Cotarella. |
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The Italian wine fleet is going through, like every other sector, the COVID storm. A storm that is still difficult to overcome, but it must be faced with the awareness that a shipwreck can be avoided, which seems to be inevitable for too many. “Great attention, in other words, but no panic, because something will change, but I do not believe in revolutions in wine consumption patterns”. This is the message that comes from Renzo Cotarella, one of the most experienced managers of Italian wine, and “helmsman” (managing director) from the flagship of wine Italy, the Marchesi Antinori, the most important private reality of Italian wine, the embodiment of a family history of 26 generations, now led by Albiera Antinori, with his sisters Allegra and Alessia and the “contemporary Leonardo da Vinci of Italian wine”, Piero Antinori, with a turnover of over 222 million euros in 2019, 2. 937 hectares of vineyards with estates in the most important territories of Italy, from Chianti Classico to Bolgheri, from Montalcino to the Langhe, from Umbria to Puglia, and crazy profitability with a ratio between ebitda and turnover of 47.5% (according to the analysis of the economic journalist Anna Di Martino). “It is clear that there are critical conditions - underlines Cotarella - especially for realities such as ours which are very oriented towards on-trade and top of the range, because the catering industry in Italy and the world (which, on the whole, for Antinori is worth over 60% of sales, editor’s note) is in great difficulty. Having said this, at least from our observatory, the forecasts of -35/-40% at the end of the year for the sector seem excessive in negative. 2020 will not be a normal year, and with the uncertainty that there is not only on the duration of the pandemic, but also in its management, it is difficult to make forecasts, but I think that we can settle between -15% and -25%. These are situations that must be managed, with great care, but without panic, especially when you have a solidity not only economic, but also in terms of brand and management as Antinori, also thanks to a family owner who has never drained resources to the company, but left everything inside and always reinvested the profits. And that has also built a management team that shares 100% of its values” (full interview in the in-depth section). |
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With the world wine markets in difficulty, Italian wineries and territories are becoming important to cultivate those smaller countries with important potential. Such as Denmark and Poland, two growing markets which, in the first 3 months of 2020, together accounted for 69 million euros of Italian wine imports (on the 63 in the first quarter of 2019, Istat data). Countries from which the “physical” events for the promotion of Italian wine are also trying to start again, with Iem-International Exibithion Management, historical leader in the organization of events abroad of Italian wine, led by Marina Nedic and Giancarlo Voglino. The first stop of the “Simply Italian Europe 2020 Tour” will be in Copenhagen, on 22 September, while on 24 September it will be in Warsaw. There will be many protagonists in the glasses, with masterclasses, guided tastings and walkaround tasting. |
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The top of the made in Italy, of every product sector, is popular on social networks. As shown by the Altagamma Social Luxury Index, created by Accenture Interactive, the world's largest digital agency, which confirms a significant growth in the social presence of Altagamma's brands, aware of the importance of this channel of communication and distribution, starting from Allegrini to Bellavista, from Biondi Santi to Ca’ del Bosco, from Ferrari to Feudi di San Gregorio, from Frescobaldi to Livio Felluga, from Masi Agricola to Mastrojanni, from Ornellaia to Tenuta Luce. An interesting aspect is the fact that the new Asian social platforms such as Tik Tok, Twitch, Douyin, Little Red Book appear on the horizon and attract the attention of younger people. At the center of 84% of spontaneous conversations in all sectors are “Glocality” (21%), discussions about the territory or origin of the products and the categories involved were mainly Food & Wine, Yacht and Hotellerie; “Luxury Lifestyle” (20%), with the categories Hard Luxury, Yacht and Hotellerie in the lead; “Heritage” (19%) and “Events” (17%) are led by Design, Yacht and Hotellerie. New trends emerge in 2019 compared to the 2018 study, related to wine & food: sustainability (7%), product customization (4%), limited editions (4%) and craftsmanship (3%). |
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July ended with fireworks at Christie’s wine auctions, which collected over €5 million in a few days, bringing two collections under the hammer, one online and the other in London on 28 July. The fine wines of the Belpaese excelled. Starting from the top: 12 bottles of Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba Riserva 2004 by Bruno Giacosa, sold at 7,963 pounds. Well also the Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2010 by Giacomo Conterno, always on the crest of the wave: two magnums awarded at £3,675. Worth mentioning are two bottles of Sassicaia 1985, which reached 2,695 pounds. |
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Wine, as a product of the land and culture, has strong origins and roots, which lie in the Mediterranean basin: it is one of the cornerstones of European civilization. A cultural and social factor, which has reached every corner of the world. In recent decades, the nerve center of wine education has become England, home of the Masters of Wine and Wset, while in more recent times it is from the U.S. that innovations such as wine tourism (born in California wineries) and scores, which have made the fortune of wine critics internationally. As the study “Wine Knowledge And Culture: Are They Related?” by Wine Intelligence recounts, wine is for everyone, disconnected from its roots, so much so that in Canada and Brazil, consumption and knowledge are not linked to the strong French and Italian communities, but to the multiculturality and liveliness of the metropolises. |
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For the first time since the end of 2014, the value of world wine exports shows a negative trend: according to the OEMV, between March 2019 and March 2020, 236 million euros (-0.7%) were lost, for a total of 31.43 billion euros in shipments. Italy did well, in the period under review shipped 2.191 billion liters of wine (+ 9.6%), for a turnover of 6.507 billion euros (+ 3.6%). From the collapse of consumption during the lockdown to US tariffs, from the negotiations for Brexit to the economic crisis of China and Japan, passing through Russia. |
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