THE “WINE LOVER” POPULATION GROWS: 10% OF EARNINGS FROM TOP WINERIES. AVERAGE COST PER BOTTLE OF QUALITY WINE BETWEEN 26 AND 50 EUROS

They go wild over top name labels, and there are a lot of them – almost 2 million. The growing number of wine lovers are studying and setting aside savings to guarantee their quality wine experiences.
This was the confirmation made by the owners of some of the most important wineries in Italy, in a recent study for Vinitaly 2007 by Eta Meta Research, which conducted 101 interviews with the top names in winemaking.

“In recent years” – claimed 45% of wine producers – “acquisitions made directly by eno-tourists equal up to 10% of total earnings for the wineries involved in the survey”. And while internet may be increasingly more important for discovering wineries, the true center has become the wineries themselves. They have become true show-rooms, even works of art created by internationally renowned artists, where tastings and events have become ‘fundamental’, like the ‘Cantine Aperte’ event and other expos. Together with the analysis of the web sites of 120 of the most important Italian wineries, it has also emerged from the study realized by Eta Meta Research that the population of wine enthusiasts is “increasingly more prepared and demanding (66.3%) and that the large talk of the wine culture has created an increase in demand, both in terms of quality (emphasized 28.7%), as well as quantity (63.4%)”.

An influencing factor, besides the increased knowledge of consumers, is media interest in wine. It represents a “determining” factor for almost all of those interviewed. The majority of influence in the choices made by wine enthusiasts is determined by guides (61.4%), followed by word of mouth from friends, newsgroups and internet forums (46.5%). Third place goes to newspapers and television, where “generalists” (22.8%) are preferred over “specialists” (19.8%).

The amount that enthusiasts are willing to spend for a single bottle of wine has definitely increased: on average, between 26 and 50 euros (24.8%), but there are also those (20.8%) who claim some wine lovers often spend over 250 euros for a single bottle. Earnings have also increased due to the increased number of people interested in wine: according to 48.5% of those interviewed the number of eno-tourists who are willing to spend more for good wine has definitely increased.

Although the majority of trips made to wineries are virtual, mostly via internet, 74% of producers still offer eno-nauts an array of ‘live’ services and initiatives to offer from, usually connected to eno-gastronomic tourism but which also include cultural and musical events.

“Increasingly widespread (31%)” – continued the study – “is the ‘sensationalization’ of wineries, with buildings planned by designers and architects: from Renzo Renzi (who on June 30th will join with editor and winemaker, Paolo Panerai, to inaugurate his first winery, built in the Maremma area of Tuscany, at Zavorrano, Rocca di Frassinello), to Gae Aulenti (who is creating a winery for Lodovico Antinori in Bibbona, near Ornellaia, the estate that has become famous worldwide), to Mario Botta (who created a “work of art” for Vittorio Moretti, in Suvereto), and Arnaldo Pomodoro. The big names in international architecture have turned to wineries, transforming them into places to visit and live the experience of wine”.