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Issue 619 - March 6th - 10th 2023 - Expressly created for 4.455 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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Many Italian wine brands protagonists at “Matter of Taste Zurich”, edition No. 5 of one of the most exclusive wine events signed by the prestigious magazine “The Wine Advocate”, founded by Robert Parker and now owned by the Michelin Group, staged today and tomorrow, in the Swiss town. With WineNews that will be there to tell its readers about it, with interviews, articles and videos starring the great wines, and the most authoritative signatures of international critics. And lots of masteclasses, such as the one dedicated to one of the most famous brands of Italy and the Langhe, namely, “A Gaja Retrospective with Gaia Gaja”, but not only (in more detail). |
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Exports are growing and consumption out-of-home, which, in value, exceeds pre-pandemic levels, while domestic consumption is falling, with purchases in large-scale distribution contracting after the boom recorded in the months of lockdowns and closures: this is the economic picture of 2022 for wine, spirits and vinegars, captured by the Federvini Observatory, in collaboration with Nomisma. With a trend that, as is inevitable, has been influenced by the national economic situation (with GDP growing by 3.9% compared to 6.7% in 2021, and a forecast of just +0.6% in 2023), and, as known, by “discontinuity factors caused by the sudden increase in production costs, transportation and inflation”. In any case, Federvini reminds us that the industry segment represented by wines, spirits and vinegars is a sector that “expresses a total turnover of more than 17 billion euros, exports for more than 9 billion euros of exports, equal to 22% of the total food & beverage exports of the country, 2,300 companies and 30,000 employees, without considering the allied industries”. Looking at the numbers, according to Nomisma elaborations, wine sales in Italy in 2022 compared to 2021 are confirmed to be down -1.8% in value, to €2.9 billion. Suffering is the still & sparkling category, worth 75% of the total, which records -6.9% in quantity and -2.2% in value in 2022, mainly due to the decline in PDO and PGI, while sparkling wines hold up better, which make -0.4% in value and -2.7% in value. Looking at exports, positive overall data on wine exports, which, according to customs data processed by Nomisma, show double-digit growth in value in wine exports to countries such as the United Kingdom with +51.4%, followed by Japan +25.1%, Canada +17.9% and Australia +17.4%, the United States with +15.6%, and France with +15%. As for out-of-home consumption, according to TradeLab elaborations, the difficult macroeconomic environment has not slowed down the market, which ended 2022 at 93 billion thus recording a value that exceeds the pre-pandemic value of 2019 (85 billion). For the wine category, the out-of-home consumption market (with the nectar of Bacchus at +24%, and sparkling wines at +21%) comes mainly from meals such as lunch and dinner, which generate 75% of the overall increase in the category.
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Consumers who discuss wine on social and on the web are mostly men, Millennials and live in the Central-Northern Italy area; conversations are mainly about red wine (60%), followed by those about white wine (38%); the most valued characteristics of wine are territoriality, sense of conviviality, sustainability, quality and food pairings; most consumers say they drink wine at home (61%), while for purchase 70% of the conversations mention traditional channels, the remaining 30% online channels; those who buy from producers’ sites do so for a better buying experience and the possibility of access to loyalty programs. Here are the most important aspects that emerged from the PwC Italia research in collaboration with Gruppo Meregalli. |
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It is not a decline, but a sharp, widely expected slowdown after a long period of enormous growth. The secondary fine wine market, as told by data on February’s Liv-ex 1000 - the benchmark index for wine investors, which monitors the performance of thousands of labels from around the world - marks its fourth consecutive month of decline: -0.8%. Since October 2022, the index has lost 2.6%, but in February there is still a sub-index capable of going in the opposite direction: the Italy 100 - which gathers the last ten vintages on the market of Barolo Bartolo Mascarello, Barbaresco Gaja, Barolo Monfortino Riserva Giacomo Conterno, Frescobaldi’s Masseto and Ornellaia, Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido, Antinori’s Solaia and Tignanello, Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva Bruno Giacosa and Flaccianello della Pieve Fontodi - has marked a +1.1% growth. The worst data is that of the Burgundy 150, which loses 2.1%, the Rhone 100 also not good, which marks a drop of 1.8%, while the Champagne 50, after three consecutive months as worst in the class, limits the losses at -0.5%. The Liv-ex 100, which analyzes the price trend of the 100 most sought-after wines on the secondary market, is back in positive territory, growing by 0.4% in February 2023 (in more detail). |
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Italian wine will end 2022 with a new record in exports, which are expected to exceed, for the first time, the threshold of 8 billion euros and definitely encouraging signals are continuing to come from the Italian Consortiums. Prosecco Doc is the giant, with a 2022 balance sheet with an increase in production volumes of +1.8% on 2021, and an increase in values of +11.5%, for a total of 638.5 million bottles sold and an estimated value of over 3 billion euros. |
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One of the many ideological and often dualistic battles that for several years has created its own space and animated the debate in the wine world is the battle between supporters of cork stoppers or screw caps. The allure of the traditional cork stopper and everything it entails in terms of “smelling of cork” on one side. The supporters of the screw cap, instead, boast its almost perfect efficiency. And, now the screw cap closes almost 4 out of 10 bottles worldwide. In Italy it is 1 out of 5 bottles, excluding sparkling wines. What is more, now, a new Association has been founded among the ranks of this second faction, called the “Svitati” (uncorked). The Association boasts the membership of 5 excellent Italian wineries that have always gone against the tide, which are Franz Haas, Graziano Prà, Jermann, Pojer and Sandri, and Walter Massa. |
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Telling the new vintages of great wine, which are already different stories every year, linking a value, a real story and a history told through the voice: this is the project “La Voce di Biondi- Santi”, edition no. 2 of the “library” of wine and stories that accompanies the release of the new vintages on the market, in this case, the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2016 and the Brunello di Montalcino 2017, produced in the “cradle” winery of the great Tuscan red. The theme of 2023 is “wonder” (in more details).
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