“World’s Most Wanted Italian Wines” by Wine-Searcher, Sassicaia leads, search declines

Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia, the Antinori Family’s Tignanello and Solaia, Frescobaldi’s Masseto and Ornellaia, Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Barolo Riserva, Pieve di Fontodi’s Flaccianello, Montevertine’s Le Pergole Torte, Gaja’s Barbaresco and Biondi Santi’s Brunello di Montalcino (Tenuta Greppo): these are the “World’s Most Wanted Italian Wines” by Wine-Searcher, the ten labels most searched for by wine lovers over the past year, on one of the reference portals, globally, of the wine world. A ranking that, within it, hides interesting trends and all to keep in mind. In fact, as emerged already a year ago, the number of overall searches dedicated to Italian wine is steadily declining. After a peak of interest, culminating in 2021, the trend was already showing signs of slowing down since last year, so much so that Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto were already registering double-digit declines, with a consequent decrease in their shares of the online search “market”. Changing, in general, are the search patterns, with some regions seeing their share of total searches decline further. Tuscany, for example, dominates the ranking of Italian regions, so much so that 8 of the top 10 wines are actually from Tuscany, and it is the fourth most searched on “Wine-Searcher”, but its share of total searches decreased by more than 5% over last year. The reason is easily explained: even the most popular wines, those that guarantee big numbers, are experiencing a moment of downturn. It is also surprising that the top 10 does not include much of what are, even and especially for consumers, the real strengths of Italian wine: diversity and territoriality. Seven of the wines in the rankings are Supertuscan or Bolgheri (and therefore Bordeaux-cut), and only three are produced from native varieties: Brunello, Barolo and Barbaresco, i.e., the three greatest reds of the Italy. In the overall ranking, if Sassicaia is confirmed at position No. 5, all the others (i.e., the same as a year ago, although with some slight changes in the ranking) lose positions.