WINENEWS ANALYSIS: THE “WORLD OF BRUNELLO”, ONE OF THE GREATEST ITALIAN WINES, SYMBOL OF MADE IN ITALY, PRODUCED BY THE CULTURAL CONTAMINATION OF 70 NATIONALITIES LIVING AND WORKING IN MONTALCINO, WHERE FOREIGNERS ARE TWICE THE ITALIAN AVERAGE

Brunello di Montalcino is a symbol of “Made in Italy” high-quality products, and has an inimitable territorial identity, but it is also an example of “wine globalization”, as it were, since it is created in a territory that hosts people from over 70 different countries. Foreigners living and working in the Montalcino territory count for 16.51% of the local population (977 out of 5.919 residents), which is twice the national average (8.4%).

This is the data from an analysis by WineNews, one of wine lovers’ most clicked sites, in the vineyards of the most important and famous red wine district in Italy, boasting record production numbers of 9 million bottles of Brunello alone in 2017, for a turnover of around 170 million euros. Further, mergers and acquisitions seem to be an unstoppable phenomenon, leading to a market value of one hectare of Brunello priced at not less than 700.000 euros. In just half a century, it has been revaluated 4.405%, thanks to an enormous success on the market (export quota 70%) and international critics. At the same time, the presence of foreigners in the territory has been growing year over year. People have moved to Montalcino from the five Continents to work at all levels of wine production, from vineyard to shelf, workers in the vineyard, managers, secretaries, sales managers, and of course the vigneron, alongside another large area of employment for foreign workers - the related industries, from tourism to restaurants and hotels, wine bars and wine shops.
Italy is getting older and older and the population is declining (60.494.000 residents as of January 1, 2018; source: ISTAT 2017 demographic balance), but since the 5.65 million foreigners have chosen to make our country their home (8.4% of the total population), there is a slight increase over 2016. So, a wine district like Brunello di Montalcino actually represents a case history: out of the total population of 5.919 inhabitants, 977 are foreign citizens (16.51%). Albanians, Rumanians and Kosovars are in the lead, and then the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, Tunisia, Japan, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, India, Laos, Philippines, and even Luxembourg, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand, to name only some of the countries of origin (source: processing WineNews on the Personal Identification Situation of the Municipality of Montalcino January 1, 2018). The percentage and number of nationalities has grown in just 10 years (in 2008, WineNews recorded 44 different countries in the area. Note: on January 1, 2017, following the merger of Municipalities, Montalcino joined San Giovanni d’Asso, one of the "capitals" of the Italian truffle, but the production territory of Brunello DOCG, per regulations, remains the old Municipality, ed.), within the social structure that has roots in past centuries, when a single intuition of "illuminated" minds of historical families and investments of private companies created and developed this district. Today, it is the collective heritage of a community that is a true melting pot.
This blend of peoples and cultures has generated staggering numbers, considering that in 1967, when the Consortium was founded, one hectare of planted or plantable land (there were slightly more than 60 hectares, with buildings) of Brunello di Montalcino was worth 1.8 million Italian Liras, equal to 15.537.15 current euros (figure obtained from calculating ISTAT coefficients for hurdle values). Today, instead, it has a market value of around 700.000 euros, according to the latest transactions, and a revaluation percentage WineNews calculated equal to 4.405% (and 2100 hectares of planted land out of the 3500 total).
These numbers narrate the unique Brunello phenomenon that has made Montalcino one of the most profitable wine districts in Italy. It generates high turnovers not only on the supply chain, but also on related industries that now, thanks to the professionalism and culture brought in by the people of so many countries in the world, crosses territorial boundaries with a multiplier effect linked to the world of Montalcino wines, which affects practically all of Southern Tuscany, from Val d’Orcia, up and down the slopes of Monte Amiata, to Maremma.