If this message is not displayed correctly click here
|
Issue 561 - January 24th - 28th 2022 - Expressly created for 4.338 wine lovers, professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Agricola San Felice (one of the leading names in Chianti Classico) which belongs to the Allianz Group, grows in Bolgheri. With Bell’Aja winery (6 hectars of vines in one of the most prestigious territories in Italy) it has now bought Batzella, a small winery with 7.5 hectares (and other 3.5 to develop), mainly devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, founded in 2000 by Khanh Nguyen and Franco Batzella. Today, the San Felice, led by Mario Cuccia extend over a total of 685 hectares in the three most prestigious production areas of Tuscany, Chianti Classico Montalcino and Bolgheri. |
|
|
|
|
Directly managing the import and distribution of one’s own products and wines in an increasingly global, vast, complex and fragmented market is anything but simple, but absolutely useful. From an economic point of view, with more value remaining within the company system, but not only. Because having direct control means, in principle, being able to work freely on the positioning of the various brands, and also being able to respond more quickly, without or with fewer intermediaries, to changes in the scenario and consumer trends that are increasingly sudden and sharp, often on the world’s markets. And while this is clearly a difficult path, requiring significant resources and a considerable organizational structure, it is one that is increasingly being taken by important and diverse groups in the Italian wine industry. With investments that are now well established, and others that are more recent. As it tell (all statements in the in-depth analysis) the different stories of the companies as Gruppo Italiano Vini – Giv, Zonin, Mezzacorona, Santa Margherita, Italian Wine Brands or Banfi. Today, this “parterre de roi”, of which we have cited only a few examples, is reinforced by Feudi di San Gregorio, the Irpinian brand led by Antonio Capaldo, with companies in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Sirch), Bolgheri (Campo alle Comete), on Mount Etna (Federico Graziani), in Basilicata (Basilisco), in Puglia (Ognissole) and in Cilento (Tempa di Zoè), which is taking its first step in this sense, starting from a strategic market for the company and for Italian wine, such as Germany. “The direct presence is not only a commercial advantage but also allows us to directly manage the story and promotion of the brand, without entrusting it to intermediaries”, comments Antonio Capaldo, president of Feudi di San Gregorio, which, on January 12, according to a note “set up a commercial company in Germany in order to promote the products of the Group’s wineries”. “Germany”, Feudi continues, “is historically one of the most important markets for the company, which aims to double its turnover over the next two years by serving 1,000 customers directly. This is the first step towards building a model that can be replicated in other areas of the world with interesting potential”. |
|
|
|
|
It is not yet a real alarm, but certainly a notable signal that the world of wine, after the exciting recovery of 2021, especially thanks to exports, cannot ignore. And, it should be pointed out, this is anything but sudden: the growth in transport costs had already exploded during the summer, that of energy is exploding for a few months already, while the tail of the fourth wave of the pandemic, which has forced millions of Italians to remain at home and caused thousands of bars and restaurants to pull down their shutters, is obvious to everybody. The result is the beginning of 2022 of absolute stagnation, on all commercial fronts, from the domestic one to foreign markets, as underlined by Marcello Bonvicini, president of Confagricoltura Emilia Romagna, where “the companies linked to the Horeca channel, have not received orders since Christmas”. |
|
|
|
|
|
Riccardo Illy has never made a secret of his desire to set up roots in the Langhe of Barolo, as WineNews has repeatedly reported, nor of his intention to open the capital of the “Polo del Gusto”, a sub-holding of the Illy group that brings together wine with Mastrojanni, one of the quality benchmarks of Brunello di Montalcino, Piedmontese Domori chocolate, French Dammann Frères tea, Pintaudi biscuits and Agrimontana preserves. And, as Riccardo Illy announced in these days in a video on the Youtube channel of the “Polo del Gusto”, 2022 could be a good year both for the definition of the new financial partner of the “Polo del Gusto” itself and, consequently, for the “closing of the agreement with a company in Barolo, with our wine sector, represented by Mastrojanni, that will be enriched by a new brand of Barolo, which will be distributed by Domori”, explains Illy. According to rumors collected by WineNews, the winery that Illy would like to use for the “Polo del Gusto” is the Cascina Meriame owned by Paolo Manzone and Luisella Corino in Serralunga d’Alba. The winery (founded in 1999) has 14 hectares of land, with production ranging from Dolcetto d’Alba to Barbera d’Alba, Nebbiolo d’Alba and Barolo. A small “gem” of the Langa, in Serralunga d’Alba, already very well reviewed by wine critics. |
|
|
|
|
|
Between communication and research, the world of wine is always on the lookout for novelty. And so, while we have often spoken of bottles being aged at the bottom of the sea, and some have experimented with aging in mines, now there are also those who are experimenting with aging in “ice”. This is the project of the Consorzio Pontedilegno-Tonale with the Consorzio Vini di Valcamonica, Cantina Bignotti and Unimont - Università della Montagna (of the University of Milan). |
|
|
|
|
In 2021, the world market for alcoholic beverages, divided into five categories - wine, spirits, beer, cider and ready-to-drink - was worth EUR 1,317 billion, with an annual growth rate for the period 2020-2025 of +5.5%. Beer is the main driver (42% of the total world market), followed by spirits (35%) and wine (20%), while ready-to-drink (2%) and ciders (1%) are at the bottom of the list. As indicated in the “Wine Report”, produced by Cross Border Growth Capital, a leading advisor in Italy for extraordinary finance operations for start-ups and SMEs, and the online wine shop Vino.com. The scenary of wine in Italy is particulary encouraging, with a total value of 14.2 billion euros (in third position after France, with a value of 20.7 billion euros, and United Kingdom with 15.8 billion euros) and with an annual growth rate of 7.9%, between 2020 and 2025. |
|
|
|
|
Barbera today is the most widespread and cultivated Piedmont vine, and Monferrato is the territory of choice. However, Barbera has been considered one of the most important varieties of Italian ampelography for at least a couple of centuries. It is an every day wine, counterbalanced in the glass of the “wine of kings”, Nebbiolo, Barbera is the number one star of Monferrato wines’ success, that has closed 2021 with 65 million bottles produced and a turnover of 400 million euros, revealed data from the Barbera d’Asti e Vini del Monferrato Consortium. |
|
|
|
|