«There is Ikea research that provides us with important indications for the future of wine. According to this research, the kitchen table has also disappeared from the homes of Italians and in particular young people. You eat standing up, on the sofa, even in bed. But less and less at the table. From this perspective, if we want to tell consumers, and particularly young people, that wine should be drunk with meals, let’s be careful. It could turn out to be the wrong strategy.”
A sector in difficulty
In the story of the president of the Italian Wine Union, Lamberto Frescobaldi during the first “Italian Cuisine Forum” organized in Manduria (Taranto) by Bruno Vespa in collaboration with Ice Agenzia and Comin & Partners there are all the doubts about the future of Made in Italy wine producers. A sector that has paid a heavy price (it is estimated around 300 million euros in the hands of lost exports to the USA) to President Trump’s duties and the disadvantageous euro-dollar exchange rate. It certainly hasn’t been helped in recent years by the health offensive that has assimilated wine to other alcoholic beverages without differentiating between abuse and moderate consumption linked to meals. And now it is also looking with concern at the new complex international scenario which risks penalizing the sector with new increases in energy and transport costs.
Promotion and research of new markets abroad
One key to trying to give an effective response is certainly promotion and generally the search for new ones markets abroad.
«Wine is one of the sectors we are focusing on the most – added the president of Ice Agenzia, Matteo Zoppas – also because in recent months there was a crisis table at Palazzo Chigi chaired by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. With the new strengthened endowment of resources attributed to Ice we are setting up a new project that aims to open new markets. An important lever may be represented by the trade agreements signed by the EU with Mercosur, India and Australia. Meanwhile, at Vinitaly this year there will be a 20% increase in foreign buyers.”
Antinori: bring tourism delegations back to the Ministry of Agriculture
«Promotion abroad is certainly the way to go – added the president of the Federvini wine group, Albiera Antinori – also using the recognition of Italian Cuisine as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a driving force. Another possibility could come from a possible reunification of the delegations of the Ministry of Tourism with those of Agriculture. A path that had already been taken when Centinaio was minister in via XX Settembre and which in my opinion could be useful in a situation like the current one. Without forgetting that motivations linked to food and wine are one of the main drivers of foreign tourism in our country.”
