Italians and fine wines: a growing relationship, but still to be built

Italians today buy fine wines primarily in wine shops (19.8%) or directly from the producer (17.5%), despite the growing importance of modern distribution, where fine wines are purchased in 16.4% of cases in physical points of sale and 9.3% of purchase opportunities in online retail chains. But it is precisely the digital market that is becoming increasingly large, between purchases through apps such as Winelivery (8.8%), specialized sites such as Tannico, Vino.com, or Callmewine (9.3%), and general sites such as Amazon (6 .6%). Even if, it should be noted, that among those who buy wine in large-scale distribution (73% of Italians do so), as many as 75% do not know what fine wines are, 19% say they have heard of them, and only 6% say to know them well. It is one of the aspects that emerge from the survey by Nomisma Wine Monitor for the Istituto Grandi Marchi, an organization that brings together 18 of the most prestigious Italian wine companies, such as Alois Lageder, Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari Tenute, Argiolas, Ca’ del Bosco, Carpenè Malvolti, Col d’Orcia, Donnafugata, Jermann, Lungarotti, Marchesi Antinori, Masi, Michele Chiarlo, Mastroberardino, Pio Cesare, Rivera, Tasca d’Almerita, Tenuta San Guido and Umani Ronchi. Fine wines that, according to Italians, are such when they express excellent quality (a statement with which 64% of the sample agrees), have a high price (61%), are characterized by exceptional sensory properties and are produced by brands and prestigious or historic cellars (57%), do not lose their characteristics or improve over time (53%) and have excellent scores in guides (53%), but are also capable of combining well with haute cuisine (52%), are produced in limited quantities (51%) and have a refined and elegant packaging (50%).
Overall, only 15% of consumers have bought a fine wine at least once in the last 12 months, with 8% having done so once or twice in a year, 4% five-six times, 2% two or three times a month, and only 0.5% do it at least once a week. With the typical profile of the buyer of fine wines, who is a man from the North-East or the Center of Italy, aged between 41 and 54, graduated, and with a monthly income of more than 2,500 euros.
And if these consumers asked themselves from which regions or territories come the highest quality fine wines, the answers are Tuscany (55%), Piedmont (41%), Veneto (36%), before the others. The first fine wines that come to consumers’ minds, again, is Barolo, ahead of Sassicaia and other denominations such as Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti, Amarone della Valpolicella, and Franciacorta, among others, and brands such as Antinori, Bertani, Ferrari, Cà del Bosco, Gaja or Dom Perignon, among the most nominated. Price is the purchasing criterion to which most attention is paid (26%), ahead of origin (25%), advice from friends or relatives (21%), and the presence of promotions (21%), but a lot of attention is also paid to possible combination with food (20%), according to the judgment of critics and experts (18.9%) and with the vintage (18.7%). Looking at the large-scale distribution channel alone, the quality/price ratio and the presence of promotions are the most appreciated advantages (around 45% of multiple responses), in addition to immediate availability (37%), while if one looks at the price ranges, 32% spend on average less than 20 euros per bottle, 34% (the most popular range) between 20 and 30 euros, but there is also 27% who aim for bottles between 30 and 50 euros on the shelf, and a 7% who look at those between 50 and 100 euros. As it turns out the price is important in the purchase of fine wines, however, only 15% of consumers would stop buying them in the absence of discounts or promotions, with a “hard core” of 29% who would continue to buy them anyway (the remaining 56% would buy less). The last part of the study intended to map the assortment of fine wines (defined as bottles priced above 20 euros) in the 3 main Italian platforms specialized in online wine sales (Tannico, Vino.com and Callmewine) whose combined turnover in 2021 reached 94 million euros (against 11 million five years earlier). Italian labels play an important role: compared to an assortment of over 11,700 fine wines present in November 2022, the Italian ones represent 58%. Of which 63% consists of red wines, 20% whites, 16% sparkling wines while rosés are present with just 1%. The price range division reveals that at the aggregate level of the three platforms, 41% of references for red wines over 50 euros per bottle, 12% for whites and sparkling wines, and 3% for rosés. A comparison of fine wine references available in November versus six months earlier (April) by price range reveals a significant increase in the ranges up to 50 euros per bottle, with some reductions by type in the higher ones: it is presumed that the “economic slowdown” effect associated with rising inflation has led online sales platforms to recalibrate their assortment, increasing the references in the lower price ranges. Highlights, dedicated to fine wines, which emerge from more articulated research, from which, given the evidence of 2022 as a record year for Italian wine exports, which according to Nomisma Wine Monitor estimates will amount to 8 billion euros, confirmation of the recovery of food & wine sales in the Horeca channel arrives, with a turnover of +47% for Italy in the first 9 months of 2022 (compared to the same period of the previous year). A growth closely related to the recovery of tourist flows, which was accompanied by a slowdown in volumes sold in the large-scale distribution channel, doubled compared to 2021. In conclusion, if the modern channel in 2020 constituted an important support in the marketing of products in connection with the restrictions caused by the various lockdown periods, having doubled the buoy of the heaviest effects of the pandemic crisis, consumption of fine wines has repositioned itself a more traditional channel, i.e. that of outdoor consumption in catering. This trend can be seen for red, white, and sparkling wines; the discussion is different for rosés, which are stable, and represent a small percentage of the overall picture. “It is clear that in this research the pandemic constitutes a decisive watershed - explained Denis Pantini, head of Nomisma Wine Monitor - which has led to significant changes in the habits of Italians, not just in the purchase of wines and other products. However, our survey of Italian consumers reveals a marked return, at least in the segment of high-end labels, to the Horeca channel, as well as a consolidation of e-commerce growth after the high rates recorded in recent years”. In fact, the report focused on purchasing behavior (which we will analyze in the coming days) by conducting a direct survey on a sample of Italians representative by gender, age, and geographical area. In terms of wine consumption in large-scale distribution, for example, 47% of consumers prefer to purchase high-priced labels, particularly during promotions, despite the presence of the Denomination (23%) as the main driver of choice of local origin (16%) and brand awareness (10%). “For the families of the Istituto Grandi Marchi - concluded president Piero Mastroberardino - this is important information, which is reflected in our respective corporate experiences, particularly those gained in recent months in which we have been protagonists of various “missions”, in Italy and abroad. These are data that we will carefully examine and that will provide additional food for thought. Ongoing reliable data are an important support for our decisions, complementing the tireless energy and passion with which we tell the story of high-quality Italian wine day after day”.