Towards the future, with the “teachings” of the pandemic. The recipe for wine, signed by Tuscany

Sending a signal of confidence and restart to the whole world, in the awareness that we must start from the territories, from the synergy between the small villages where the great excellences of Italian wine and gastronomy are born, strategic assets for the economy, employment, environmental sustainability and tourism, and the great cities of art and business, the driving force of the markets and great international showcases able to project the territories in the world. Also through that digital on which the pandemic has imposed a strong acceleration to all, businesses, consumers and institutions. Changing models of consumption, communication, but also of business management A message that applies to all Italian wine, and that comes from one of its most important regions for history and values, such as Tuscany, which today (while BuyWine continues, the digital form that puts hundreds of companies and buyers from all over the world in virtual and direct contact) stages “PrimAnteprima”, the event dedicated to the 12 “smaller, but not minor” consortia (Candia dei Colli Apuani, Carmignano, Chianti Rufina, Colline Lucchesi, Cortona, Maremma Toscana, Montecucco, Orcia, Pitigliano and Sovana, Terre di Pisa, Valdarno, Val di Cornia Suvereto), which launches the week of Anteprime, which, from tomorrow to May 21st, will put the spotlight on Tuscany's most famous wine appellations, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti, Chianti Classico, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Nobile di Montepulciano and Morellino di Scansano, each with a format suited to their needs.
A message of resistance and confidence in the future, the one that comes from the Tuscany of wine, a region that, in 2020, exported almost 1 billion euros of wine in the world, despite the difficulties of the pandemic, and that produces PDO and PGI wine (52 regional denominations) from more than 99% of its more than 60,000 hectares of vineyards, a figure that tells of a path focused on quality that began a long time ago, as told by institutions, companies and researchers (in the talk led by Tinto, aka Nicola Prudente, voice of “Decanter” on Rai Radio2). Telling of a restart that must start again from the good things, in spite of everything, left as an inheritance the hardest period of the pandemic.
“We had the time to rediscover territories, short supply chain, to deepen the link between health and eating and drinking well - said the Councillor for Agriculture and Vice-President of the Tuscany Region, Stefania Saccardi - which is essential for the well-being, and that in Tuscany also means tourism, employment, development of the territory. To support the sector we are planning the next Psr, for Tuscany there are 300 million euros plus those that will come from the recovery fund for agriculture. We must be good at transforming this crisis into an opportunity for different growth, with a new vision of more sustainable agriculture, always attentive to quality, but also to ethics. In other words, working on agriculture that is a symbol of development. The brand Tuscany is strong, it means quality, it recalls a land of beautiful landscapes, a development that has respected environment, a landscape where wineries are perfectly inserted, and where good things are made, of quality, where the level of hospitality among agritourisms and wine shops is high. We win on quality, not on quantity, otherwise, we lose”.
In the meantime, however, between the reopening of restaurants in Italy and in the world, albeit among a thousand difficulties, and a slow and gradual return of tourism, the wine of Tuscany and Italy, begin to see a little light at the end of the tunnel, to be reached by starting again from the positive elements emerged in the difficulties in recent months.
”The crisis - said Fabrizio Del Bravo (Ismea) - has forced many companies to digitize the management of customers and intermediaries, and this path, if it is strengthened will help in the future. Moreover, Italy has held up better than others on international markets, given that exports as a whole have fallen by 2.2%, much less than those of France, which have fallen by over 11%. Moreover, the customer’s approach to large-scale distribution has changed, a channel in which the level of quality has increased”. In the retail channel, according to Ismea data, in 2020 wine sales grew by 5.3% nationally, with Tuscany growing by as much as +11%, and with a trend that continues in the first quarter of 2021, with the Region’s PDO wines growing by 19%. “And with interesting peculiarities - added Del Bravo - with +81% among consumers under 35, and +23% in the South - and where there is still space for improvement”.
Another strategic asset is that of wine tourism, “which was born in Tuscany on an Italian level”, pointed out Roberta Garibaldi, editor of the Italian Wine and Food Tourism Report 2021, and president of the Italian Wine and Food Tourism Association. “Limitations have made Italian tourists rediscover territories, for 71% of them now the food and wine offer is one of the most important things when choosing a travel destination. But there is a desire for innovation and quality, and the future challenge is to find a balance between traditions and innovation of the experience. The Report shows that while the most desired regions of the moment are Sicily and Emilia Romagna, Tuscany remains at the top and is at the top of the preferences of more than 1 Italian in 10, and Florence is among the most desired cities. Here the offer is endless, and wine tourism is a strategic asset to be invested in”.
“This crisis, which is a bit like a war, from which, however, we will emerge strengthened, and we will overcome it all together - concluded Francesco Mazzei, at the helm of Avito, the association that represents all the Consortia, and consequently all the companies, of Tuscan wine - as these difficult times have taught us, they have forced us to unite more, to find the synthesis even if starting from different positions on many aspects. But it has also pushed us, as companies, to review business models, to review distribution policies, to discover that maybe what we were doing before was not the right and efficient thing to do. And it is from here that we must start again, to face what will be the new normality”.