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Issue 557 - December 27th - 31st 2021 - Expressly created for 4.336 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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If in the world of the web the reference point, the origin of any search, is Google, in the world of wine it is “Wine-Searcher”, the reference portal for wine lovers all over the world, where, as always, French wines dominate the “Top 100 Most Searched-For Wines”, with 9 Italian labels. The only one in the top ten is Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia, in position no. 6, followed by Marchesi Antinori’s Tignanello (no. 14), Masseto (no. 30) and Ornellaia (no. 39) of the Frescobaldi group, Solaia (no. 42), Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino (no. 49), Fontodi’s Flaccianello della Pieve (no. 52), Montevertine’s Le Pergole Torte (no. 82) and Bartolo Mascarello’s Barolo (no. 96). |
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The great Italian classics, which never betray, whether they are chosen for drinking at the table with friends and family or as gifts, with an obvious influence of “territoriality” with respect to the place of purchase (especially in the South and Islands), with the most popular being Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone della Valpolicella and Bolgheri, but also many Italian sparkling wines, especially Metodo Classico, Franciacorta and Trentodoc in the lead, with “excursions” to the Alta Langa, without forgetting Prosecco, especially in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Docg version, but also a strong return of Champagne, especially in the cities to toast these holidays still hampered by the pandemic, which does not prevent, however, to dream and give oneself a moment of lightness and happiness at least in the glass. These are the most popular denominations for the end-of-year festivities according to the sentiment gathered by WineNews among some of the most prestigious wine shops throughout Italy, awarded the “Tre Cavatappi” by the guide “Enoteche d’Italia 2021” by Gambero Rosso (Casa del Barolo in Turin, Antica Bottega del Vino in Verona, of the Famiglie Storiche, Enoteca La Fortezza in Montalcino, as well as Ferrowine in Castelfranco Veneto, Enoclub in Milan, Trimani in Rome, Vignoli in Florence, Continisio in Naples, Vinarius De Pasquale in Bari and Antica Enoteca Cagliaritana in Cagliari). In general, wine shop owners point out that there has been an important recovery, especially on the part of private customers, while corporate gifts are still subdued in the pre-pandemic 2019. These trends were also confirmed to WineNews by Andrea Terraneo, at the helm of Enoteca La Barrique in Cantù and president of Vinarius, the association that brings together more than 100 wine shops in Italy, who outlined an all in all positive scenario: “things are going well, we can’t complain, the good expectations we had for the end of the year are being fulfilled, even though we will have the data to make definitive assessments at the end of January 2022. In general, however, the sale of bottles for take-away is going much better than in 2020, with an average price per bottle that, at the moment, is mainly in the range between 15 and 30 euros”. |
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On the one hand, there is the qualitative growth of Italian classic methods, Franciacorta, Trentodoc and Alta Langa in the lead, which are increasingly perceived (and presented) as an alternative to Champagne, which, however, is defended by a growth in the quality of “Non Vintage” wines at affordable prices, which risk, in some ways, sending Italian bubbles “out of the market”, “forced” to provide much higher quality than their price range, in order to compete. On the other hand, Prosecco is still perceived as a category and as a mass product, rather than as the expression of many companies, brands and sub-zones such as Rive or Cartizze, in the case of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, and with a quality that is growing enormously. This is the “paradox” that Italian bubbles are experiencing according to Eric Guido, who covers Italy for “Vinous” by Antonio Galloni. |
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The fact that the prices of fine wines continue to rise is not a surprise, nor is the distance, as yet unbridgeable, that separates the most expensive labels from Italy from the big names in France and the Moselle, as confirmed by Wine-Searcher’s “Top 50 Most Expensive Wines”. At the top is confirmed Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru, with an average price of 40,467 dollars, followed by Leroy Domaine d’Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru (31,256 dollars) and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grand Cru (24,127 dollars). There are 17 labels above 10,000 dollars, almost 10 times the average price of the most expensive Italian wine: Barolo Riserva Monfortino by Giacomo Conterno (1,165 euros). On the podium, Giuseppe Quintarelli’s Amarone della Valpolicella (1,117 euros) and Gianfranco Soldera’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Case Basse (861 euros). In fourth place there is Masseto (833 euros), followed by Barbaresco Crichet Paje by Roagna (830 euros). In sixth place is Cappellano’s Barolo Piè Franco (789 euros), ahead of another Roagna label, Barolo Riserva Pira (690 euros), in seventh place. In eighth place the Refosco Colli Orientali del Friuli “Calvari” by Miani (666 euro), in ninth place the Barolo Monvigliero G.B. Burlotto (591 euro) and, in tenth place, the Amarone della Valpolicella by Giuseppe Quintarelli (586 euro). |
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Italian wine has lost one of its greatest pioneers, the “Founding Father” of Franciacorta, one of the most important sparkling wine areas in Italy. Franco Ziliani has passed away in these days when the world is toasting, thanks also to the Lombard bubbles, created by his inventiveness and genius. He was a pioneer and the creator of Franciacorta, founder of Guido Berlucchi, and considered one of the “Fathers” of modern Italian enology. |
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While the attention of the news is once again focused almost entirely on the pandemic, the world of wine is having to reckon with the huge increase in production costs, which is holding back consumption, reducing the margins of companies and the purchasing power of consumers. “The impact of rising production costs on the sector shows no sign of abating, not only in Italy but also in France and Spain, the other two main European wine-producing countries. In Italy, the increases in the third quarter of 2021 have reached a range of +8/12%, with a peak of +24.4% recorded by the surge in energy costs”. This was said by the wine cooperatives of France, Italy and Spain, which account for over 50% of EU wine production. |
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The wine world is looking beyond the pandemic, or at least, like everyone else, is trying to do so, and returning to promotion in foreign markets, in the ways that the health framework will allow, will be fundamental. And, in this sense, the Ministry of Agricultural Policy has published the provisional national ranking list of projects admitted to funding from the resources of the Wine CMO for promotion in Third Countries. More than 29 million euros have been admitted for funding, which will activate promotion projects for a total value of 72.3 million euros (see the list in more detail). |
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