WINE: BEIJING TO NEW YORK VIA MOSCOW. ITALIAN EXPORTS TO THE USA DOWN BUT THE STATES STILL HOLD THE LEAD, SHIPMENTS ARE GROWING IN CHINA, BUT FRANCE IS STILL DISTANT. AND RUSSIA FOUND A WAY TO "WORK AROUND" THE ADVERTISING BAN

Italian wine is more and more "linked" to exports and at the beginning of 2013 news from some of its target markets of today and tomorrow needs to be paid close attention to. Let’s start from the New York-Beijing, Moscow axis. In Russia, the newspaper "Izvestia" writes that the total ban in force since January 2013 on wine and alcohol ads on all medias and mentioning "brand names" in articles and reviews, could be got around through social networking medias like Facebook and sites like www.livejournal.com which, although common in the country are not under the jurisdiction of the Kremlin, because the servers reside abroad.
Conflicting winds are coming, instead from the Orient: the fear of counterfeit products may hinder imports in China, as Wine Intelligence reported, but 2012 was a year of significant growth for Italian wine: +21% wine exports in the first nine months of 2012 (the same period as 2011) says the Italian farmers association Coldiretti, together with Made in Italy food products (+27% overall, for 300 million euros). This data is positive but there is no resting on laurels: France still dominates, and Australian and Chilean wines are growing rapidly.
The choice of mid-range wines in China is still determined by varietals. And the best known ones are: Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Chardonnay (40%), Sauvignon Blanc (39%), Riesling (38%) and Pinot Noir (35%). This means Italy, that bets heavily on wines made from native grapes as a distinctive feature, needs to commit even more to education and outreach projects among Chinese consumers, in order to grow economically.
And many are already doing it - investing resources and running the risk of being over fascinated by the great (but difficult) Eastern perspectives, and "neglecting" Western markets, the "core business" of Italian wine abroad. First of all, the US market, where Italy is still the leader in volume and value, but where, besides sparkling wines, it is also the only major exporter that is scoring declines (less 0.7% in volume and less 2.8% in value) in 2012, compared to American imports of +19.6% in quantity and +5.4% in value (8.4 million hectoliters and 3.1 billion dollars)...