600 MILLION EUROS TURNOVER, EXPORT 80% AND GROWING, THE ITALIAN MARKET DOING WELL (+ 20% IN 2017 ON 2016): STAGGERING FIGURES FROM VALPOLICELLA AND PREVIEW AMARONE (3-5 FEBRUARY, VERONA)

Amarone is soaring on international markets: 10% increase in value in 2017 compared to 2016 and 68% of total volumes destined abroad for the king of Valpolicella. The annual survey by Vini della Valpolicella Observatory and curated by Nomisma-Wine Monitor was carried out on a representative sample of producers during Anteprima Amarone (Gran Guardia di Verona, until February 5th, www.anteprimaamarone.it),
It’s a green light on all the main markets, starting with Germany (+ 30%) and at almost 25% of sales it is the main outlet for Amarone. The US is also good (+ 10%), while Switzerland and the United Kingdom show close to 5% increases. Among the secondary outlets, it is quite popular on the Asian markets and China and Japan growing by 15%. “It was not an easy year for the Italian red wine segment”, said the director of the Valpolicella Wine Protection Consortium, Olga Bussinello. Amarone confirms its great appeal on international markets, thanks partially to the economic recovery, and partially to the greater commercial strength of our business structure and our brand. It’s great news and lets us celebrate our golden anniversary of the denomination this year, aware that we have taken the right path”.
But the biggest surprise comes from the domestic market, which closed 2017 on a considerable increase (+20%), driven by the increase in away-from-home consumption. In Italy large-scale distribution plays a marginal role in the distribution of Amarone (25% share, value that has grown almost 13%), while catering and wine shops together absorb 60% of the domestic market. Lastly, direct sales are at the top, thanks to the significant increase in tourists in Valpolicella, which has almost doubled the regional average from 2009 to 2016 (+ 54%). According to t Nomisma-Wine Monitor, Amarone produced a turnover of around 355 million euros last year. Valpolicella, counting 7.994 hectares of vineyards and about 2.300 wine producing companies, is the largest Italian DOC among the 20 celebrating fifty years of the denomination in 2018.
Amarone is, “in Veneto where there are 52 denominations, the business card of the region is this red wine. Amarone and Prosecco are two productions that perform incredibly well, and together are like a Macedonian Phalanx on the market”. Amarone wine icon of Valpolicella that founded part of its success on its grape drying process, which according to Zaia should be nominated as Unesco Heritage, “we are ready to file the request, to enhance the success story for which our companies and institutions merit recognition”.
The quality of a territory that has one of the highest productions in Italy - up to 24.000 euros per hectare - a total turnover exceeding 600 million euros, an average of 1.250 work days per company between seasonal and permanent employees, and 62 million bottles (distributed in 2017), is fundamental for the economy of Verona. According to the analysis (based on the Italian social security institute, Inps data) by the Valpolicella Wine Protection Consortium on a substantial sample of the 2.300 wineries in the territory, the average business expense for salaries of its employees is about 100.000 euros per company, in an area where integration has always been its strong point: 460 non-EU workers, 1.030 from EU countries and about 1.080 Italians, to which must be added, according to the Consortium, the linked activities generated by services and tourism that have increased 54% from 2009 to 2016, twice the regional growth in the same period. “Wine is one of the main economies in Verona, which is not by chance the number one Italian city in wine exports”, said Olga Bussinello. “The goal is to weigh more and more on the socio-economic level and less on the environmental one, and the RRR (Reduce, Save, Respect) certification that we have been pursuing for three years”.
The Valpolicella Consortium is very highly represented (80%) in a particular structure of its enterprises, mostly small and medium size companies, distributed in a mega-vineyard of 8.000 hectares. The artisan production exports 8 bottles out of 10, thanks also to the promotion and internationalization activities organized by the Consortium, in which most of the smallest companies participate and in 30% of the cases, these companies do not produce more than 20.000 bottles. Among the 1.636 member companies, over half are under 2 hectares, while only 7.5% are over 100.000 square meters. Instead, the gross salable production is very high - grapes cost 23-24 thousand euros per hectare - and the added value in some cases is more than 30%. Finally, land value, which in various areas reaches 450.000 euros.