ITALIAN SPUMANTE UP 60% IN 2008. MINISTER ZAIA: “THANKS TO ITS QUALITY, IT IS A STRATEGIC SECTOR IN CONTINUOUS GROWTH”. “THE FORUM FOR ITALIAN SPUMANTI”, CONDUCTED BY GIAMPIERO COMOLLI, HELD FROM 6 TO 8 SEPTEMBER IN VALDOBBIADENE

In 2008, Italian Spumanti registered an increase of 60% (over 2007) in earnings abroad, with an increase in export volumes of “just” 10%. This was the data recently revealed by the National Spumanti Economics observatory (Ones) in a press release prior to the “Forum for Italian Spumante”, held in Valdobbiadene (Treviso), from 6 to 8 September.
Based on the data collected by Ones, the total value of national Spumante exports for 2008 will reach 1.3 billion euros, and 320 million bottles. The internal market, however, is less brilliant, regardless of the constant growth registered for direct sales in wineries. 7% of production is sold directly by producers, surpassing 15% in the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene territory. In 2007, a flood of Spumanti reached Italian dinner tables: 165 million bottles (of which 12 million were from abroad). But Italy’s sparkling wine consumption is seasonal (72% of these bottles were drunk during the last 25 days of the year).
This significant data has, today, caused Ones experts to emphasize the, “scarce effects obtained up to now to de-seasonalize consumption. Abroad, instead, consumption of sparkling wine is more evenly spread throughout the year; Spumante is considered a drink even during mealtime, an alternative to still wines. In Italy, Spumante maintains its connotation as a wine for special occasions, therefore, its sales are concentrated during the periods immediately preceding the holidays.
“This data, which registers an increase of 60% in earnings abroad during the first semester of 2008, is the confirmation” - explained Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia - “that the path of quality that our products have taken is a winning one. Wines are the best synthesis of our territories. The variety and the quality of our regional production are recognized all over the world and they are increasingly the leaders of national exports abroad”.
”We have clear disciplinaries and certified production systems” - continued Zaia – “the small and medium sized enterprises that characterize the sector have turned Italian wines into protagonists. Over the past 20 years, production techniques have been refined and we even have Spumanti labels that can be vaunted. The “Forum of Italian Spumanti” (Valdobbiadene, Treviso), in one of the top regions for Italian winemaking, will be an important opportunity for all of the sector’s operators and for consumers to enlarge their culture and knowledge of our sparkling wines, to propose new contents and initiatives to head towards, together, a reinforcement of the sector and its potential as a sector in continuous growth”.

”Forum for Italian Spumanti 2008”: Not just a drink for the holidays
Taking sparkling wine out of the context of holiday celebrations was the main focus of the 2008 meeting of the “Forum for Italian Spumanti”, which was held from 6 to 8 September at Villa dei Cedri in Valdobbiadene (Treviso). Giampietro Comolli, at the head of the event, explained: “the accelerator must be pushed for the cultural aspects of drinking, and the attention towards consumers. A forum that is continuously more a market observatory, is continuously more involved in making known the difference between a Docg and Doc Spumante, between a classic method and a charmat method. The Forum of Italian Spumanti has also become an increasingly more important institution thanks to the collaboration with the Minister of Agriculture”. For more information on the event go to, www.forumspumantiditalia.it.

Future Appointments
The “Forum for Italian Spumanti” will be in Rome for the third edition of the “Sparkling Wine Festival” at the Parco dei Principi (October 4 - Winetasting, 4 to 9 Pm).

The Data on Italian Spumanti consumption and sales in 2007
- 299 million bottles of Italian Spumanti sold worldwide
- 153 million bottles of national production consumed in Italy
- 165 million bottles consumed in Italy including imported sparkling wines
- 146 million bottles sent to the 25 EU countries and 32 other countries worldwide
- 72% of total Italian consumption occurs within 25 days (it was 80% in 1998)
- 2.3 billion euros, the total earnings for Italian Spumanti
- 3.4 million, the number of regular consumers of Spumanti and Champagne
- 2.8 bottles, the per person, per year consumption in Italy