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Issue 731 - April 28th - May 2nd 2025 - Expressly created for 3706 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | Although modest in absolute numbers, the wine collecting and auction market always has its relevance, even if fine wines are going through difficulties. Giving an overview, it is the iDealwine “Barometer” on 2024, a year judged “rather stable”, in which one of the world leaders in online wine auctions and the first auction house in France organized a total of 48 sales, with a total of 261,465 bottles awarded (+17.7%) and a total value of around 39.1 million euros, including buying commissions (+15% on 2023), but with the average price per bottle slightly down, to 149 euros (from 152 euros, -1.9%). | |
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| | If for a long time the fine wines market was dominated by France, with Burgundy and Bordeaux, today Italy is also playing a leading role, with the most emblazoned wines and griffes, from Tuscany and Piedmont in primis. For the iDealWine “Barometer”, in 2024 Burgundy is confirmed as the first region overall (45.2% of value and 27% of adjudicated volume), Bordeaux first in terms of bottles traded (32.8%) and second in terms of value (27%), the average price of Champagne has dropped 16%, and Italy has gone from 1 to 2% of adjudicated value. Value affecting the 50 most sought-after estates, which account for 53% of the total awarded and 19% by volume. Overall, the performance of Italian fine wines remained stable, accounting for 51% of non-French wines sold at auction, for 7,786 bottles awarded (+1.4%), bringing Italy to sixth place among the most sought-after “regions”. Leading the “Top 10” of most desired wines is Frescobaldi Group’s Masseto 2001 (purchased for 1,313 euros), followed by Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino Riserva 2004 (1,229 euros) and, closing the podium, Soldera Case Basse’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2001 (1,188 euros); then, Bruno Giacosa with Barbaresco Santo Stefano di Neive Riserva 1990 (1,075 euros), Cappellano with Barolo Pie Franco 2004 (788 euros), and Giuseppe Quintarelli’s Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 2007 (750 euros); closing, Giuseppe Rinaldi with Barolo Brunate Le Coste 2008 (625 euros), Roagna with Barbaresco Pajé 2016 (550 euros), Biondi-Santi’s Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1951 (538 euros), and, finally, Giuseppe Mascarello's Barolo Riserva 1958 (ma, continuing in the “Top 20”, there are wines such as Angelo Gaja’s Costa Russi, Luciano Sandrone’s Barolo, Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia, Avignonesi’s Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice, Antinori’s Solaia and Valentini’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, among others). In the “Top 10” of the most highly rated estates No. 1 is Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, ahead of Tenuta San Guido, Gaja, Giuseppe Rinaldi, G. B. Burlotto, Giacomo Conterno, Tignanello (Antinori), Giuseppe Mascarello, Bartolo Mascarello and Bruno Giacosa (but scrolling down, to position No. 20, it ranges from Borgogno to Accomasso, from Vietti to Biondi-Santi, from Pio Cesare to Roagna, from Soldera Case Basse to Casanova di Neri, to name a few). | |
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| | From market uncertainty to new consumer habits, climate change on production, labor, and rising production costs. The challenges facing the wine industry are well known, but these are problems “beyond the immediate influence or control of the sector”, and, therefore, allies such as robotics and Artificial Intelligence must be found. This is the view of the “Lien de la Vigne-Vinelink international”, an independent association founded in 1992 and based in Paris, which at its last annual meeting discussed how Ai can have a positive effect in terms of efficiency both in vineyard management and in the winery, but also at the level of marketing and business organization. And during which President Peter Hayes passed the baton to Italian Carlo De Biasi. | |
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| | | From the world record for exported volumes to the production record to biodiversity. These are all the records, cited by Coldiretti, of Italian wine, the standard-bearer of Made in Italy in the world. The Italian wine sector has a total turnover that has reached 14.5 billion euros. Managing this heritage are 241,000 wineries, spread over an area of 681,000 hectares, with Veneto, Sicily and Apulia leading the way in terms of size. 78% of the area - corresponding to about 532,000 hectares - is allocated to IG (65% PDO and 14% PGI). Wine is also the first item of Italian agrifood exports with a value that in 2024 reached 8.1 billion euros (+6% over 2023), exports touched almost 22 million hectoliters (+3%). The U.S., with 1.94 billion euros (+10%), is confirmed as the main market, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Driving sales are mainly sparkling wines, which account for 29% of the total value exported. And if the per capita consumption of wine in Italy is around 37 liters per year, the sector also has a significant impact in terms of employment, with 1.3 million people involved directly and indirectly in the supply chain and an unparalleled wine biodiversity, with 635 grape varieties registered in the national register. | |
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| | | The year 2024 in Europe was good for alcoholic beverage exports. As Eurostat reports, a value of 29.8 billion euros was reached, and driving exports was wine with a 56.2% share of all alcoholic beverages. France, in 2024, was the EU’s leading exporter of alcoholic beverages to countries outside these borders, ahead of Italy with 6 billion euros, a figure that for the most part (81.1%, 4.9 billion euros) is related to wine exports. | |
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| | While the debate on “no-low” wines often focuses mostly on the zero-alcohol growing space, it is perhaps low-alcohol wines that give, to date, the qualitatively best results. This is the road taken, from 2024, also by the Prosecco Doc Consortium with the “Prosecco Low-Alcohol” project with the University of Padua, which together presented the first results of a sparkling wine production with an alcohol content between 8-9 degrees and low residual sugar, obtained not by dealcolation, but by containing the development of the alcohol content in the vineyard and in the cellar, which WineNews was able to taste and which, if from the olfactory and visual point of view, is very close, if not entirely, to “traditional” Prosecco. | |
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| | Great bottles, in limited editions, signed by prestigious brands - including Argiolas, Masi, Mastroberardino, Pio Cesare, Tenuta San Leonardo - paired with dream experiences in some of the most beautiful Italian estates, such as Palas Cerequio (Michele Chiarlo), Tenuta Regaleali (Tasca d’Almerita), Tenuta Tignanello (Marchesi Antinori), Donnafugata, Umani Ronchi, Folonari, Jermann: there are 13 lots featured in the charity auction “Il Bel Viaggio”, which will be staged on May 6 at Finarte in Milan, by Progetto Itaca and Istituto Grandi Marchi. | |
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