Italian winemakers are following
the Christopher Columbus route ever more and making their way to
America but also eastward, with double-digit growth in Russia,
Japan and China.
The 52nd edition of Vinitaly, the largest wine festival in
the world, opened with good prospects for Italian wines to
expand even more.
Some 4,380 exhibitors - 130 more than in 2017 - are taking
part at the Verona exhibition grounds, with a bipartisan
political and institutional presence.
"Vinitaly is an exceptional event and a true source of pride
for Verona, the Veneto region and the entire country. This is
where there is the best of Italy," said Senate speaker Maria
Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, who inaugurated the event.
Consumers ever more sensitive to good wine are found in major
US cities and among Americans under age 35.
Some 71% of New Yorkers are considered 'wine-addicted', while
28% of US consumers have drunk Italian wine over the past 12
months.
However, in this longstanding market for Italian wine
exports, 4 out of every 10 people have never drunk Italian-made
wine. The US is thus a mature market with wide potential growth
margins, according to the Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor survey
on consumption habits in five US states: New York, California,
Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
The survey spurs on a sector that is seen in good health in
Vinitaly. Revenue in Italy from wines and sparkling wines, said
Italian farmers association Coldiretti, grew by 5% and rose in
2017 to a record high over 10.6 billion.
This was mostly due to exports, which rose to their highest
ever level at 6 billion (+6%), while slight growth was seen also
on the domestic market to 4.6 billion, in part due to household
consumption (+2%).
"Five years ago," former Minister of Agricultural, Food and
Forestry Maurizio Martina said, "the wine sector was important
but not so central. I am proud of this because the record high
of 6 billion in 2017 was partially to our credit."
At the most important event of the sector and at a delicate
political moment, League leader Matteo Salvini and M5S party
chief Luigi Di Maio were present.
The League party chief said that he was at the exhibition to
"pay homage to entrepreneurship that resists, creates jobs and
does great things for Italian production despite the
restrictions laid on it by Europe".
Di Maio instead noted that "it is important to support,
including in Brussels, this sector that has invested in
tradition and innovation."
Some stimulus came also from the 'King of Tortellini',
Giovanni Rana.
"Wine is the pearl of Italian-made products, a driving force
behind everything," he said. "However, it is necessary for
entrepreneurs to look beyond Italy."
"Wine is the pearl of Italian-made products, a driving force
behind everything," he said. "However, it is necessary for
entrepreneurs to look beyond Italy."
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