States, Italian wine’s sudden slowdown in its No. 1 market. Which needs to be garrisoned even more

If overall Italian wine exports, in 2023, at an overall level, mark a moderate decline, at least in the first 7 months of the year (-1.2% in value to 4.4 billion euros, and -1.5% in volume, to 12.3 million hectoliters, according to the most recent Istat data analyzed by WineNews), the situation in the U.S. deserves special focus, a market that remains the most important for Italian wineries, but which, after having for more than a decade led the growth of exports, is now showing rather worrying signs of contraction, even compared to the performance of the U.S. market in general, and of its main competitors. A quite different scenario from the euphoric one told a year ago, for example, by WineNews, from the “Wine Experience” by Wine Spectator, one of the most important events on the American scene, in New York. As shown by Customs data, on the first half 2023, analyzed by the Ice Agency in NewYork. Well, overall, Italian wine imports stood at $1.05 billion, down -7% on the same period 2022. A significantly worse performance than France, which was essentially stable (-0.1%) at $1.25 billion. Albeit at vastly lower values, New Zealand does much better, with +32.6%, to $342 million), and Spain also grows, by +5.1% (to $187 million), while Australia, Argentina, Chile, Portugal and South Africa fall by double digits. With Italy, however, also doing much worse in value than the U.S. wine import market as a whole, at -2.6%, to $3.4 billion. And things do not get any better in volume, although here, Italy is more in line with the market as a whole. The tricolor figure, between January and June 2023, shows -9.4% in quantity, to 1.6 million hectoliters, against an overall trend of -8.9% (to 6.3 million hectoliters). Among the “big boys”, France does worse in volume (-10.2%) and Chile (which drops by -53%), while Canada (+14.7%, to 1.1 million hectoliters), Australia (+16.7%) and New Zealand (+32.7%) grow.
Focusing on the types, Italian still red wines accuse -8.3% in value, for $296 million, doing much worse than the average (+0.3%, for $888 million) and France, which scores +17.4% (for $309 million), while volumes are down -10.4% for tricolor wines, on -9.1% of the total, and to -2.1% of France. The trend does not change for Italian white wines, which make -7.6% in value, to $338 million, but perform much worse than average, as white imports to the U.S. grow, in value, by +9.4%, with jumps of +23.3% for France and +38.2% for New Zealand, for example. With quantities, for Italy, saying -8.5%, on the +3.5% of the US total, to New Zealand’s +39.4%, and France’s +11.7%. And while Italian rosé wines (-25% in value against the +11.6% of the US market) and dessert wines (-12.2%), which, overall, are worth just over $110 million, are also doing a little better, Italian sparkling wines, the only category, still slowing down, but doing better than the general market and its main competitors, at least in terms of percentage changes. In fact, Italian sparkling wines were essentially stable in value (-0.6%) at $297 million, against a market that makes -8.6%, and a France that, in value, retreats by -13.5% (to $454 million). Less well in volume, with Italy doing -5.1%, against a market at -10.7%, and a France at -28.8%. Worth highlighting, for pure statistical value, is the perfomance of organic wines, which for Italy, in the U.S., are worth just $7.4 million, and make +7%, against a resounding +359% of total U.S. imports, with a figure heavily influenced percentage-wise, by +14895% from New Zealand, which went from $0.5 million in 2022 to $87.6 million in 2023, hegemonizing, in fact, with an 82% share in value, the market for imported organic wines in the States.
But precisely in light of these difficulties in the U.S. market, it becomes all the more important to preside over it, as explained by the rumors, gathered in recent days by the “Simply Italian Great Wines Tour” by Iem (Giancarlo Voglino & Marina Nedic), which touched important cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles. “2023 is very different than 2022: last year there was great enthusiasm in the post-Covid phase, but the period now is not easy”, comments Marina Nedic, “in the U.S. and, more generally, globally. There is a change in the markets, and in the way of consuming wine, and that is why it becomes even more important and strategic to preside over the markets themselves, to understand how tastes change, pricing policies, to understand the preferences of new consumers”. Words that are echoed by Alessandro Nicodemi, president of the Consorzio dei Vini d’Abruzzo: “the data are unequivocal, in 2023 there is a contraction in the world's markets, both in Europe and outside the European Union, such as in the US. Some say it is cyclical, others say it is structural. Let’s wait for year-end data to draw conclusions, but without a doubt, precisely in the most difficult times like this, it is important to be present in the markets to access the lights on our products, such as in our case the wines of Abruzzo, but on all Italian wines in general”. As done by the Consorzio Vini Oltrepò, as director Carlo Veronese explains, “the presence in Extra EU markets is fundamental, USA and Japan are our most important markets. We came to the U.S. to preside over markets that we already have, and where we export not only Pinot Noir, an international grape variety that for us represents 3,000 hectares of vines, but also Bonarda and Sangue di Giuda, which are our oldest tradition, based on Croatina, and there are more and more wine lovers who appreciate these uniquenesses. And this gives us hope for the future”.
And if these hours, in New York, there is a walk around tasting signed by the Istituto Grandi Marchi, which brings together 18 of the most important Italian wineries (from Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari Tenute to Antinori, from Argiolas to Ca’ del Bosco, from Carpenè Malvolti to Donnafugata, from Jermann to Lungarotti, from Masi to Chiarlo, from Pio Cesare to Tasca d’Almerita, fromTenuta San Guido to Tenuta San Leonardo, to Umani Ronchi, which, together, express a turnover of 600 million euros, 4, 3% of the total turnover of Italian wine in 2022, more than 55 % of which is abroad with a value of 350 million euros, 4.4 % of the total export share of Italian wine in 2022), in Chicago, on October 22-23, there will be Vinitaly’s trade fair debut in the United States, which, for the first time, is a partner of International Wine Expo - Iwe, thanks to the collaboration with Italian Expo, the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce of Chicago and the Midwest and the Ice Agency.
There are over two hundred wineries at the fair (with names such as Marchesi di Barolo, Cantine Lunae, Terra Moretti, Ferrari, Mezzacorona, Sartori, Santa Margherita, Gruppo Italiano Vini - Giv, Fongaro, Italia del Vino Consorzio, Diesel Farm, Argea, Zonin1821, Tinazzi, Val d’Oca, Pasqua, Masottina, Castello di Romitorio, Tenuta di Trinoro, Rocca delle Macìe, Angelini Wine & Estates, Tenimenti del Leone, Zaccagnini, Citra, Di Majo Norante, Librandi, Cantina di Santadi, just to name a few of the most famous ones), for a total of more than a thousand labels offered in the business event, in a matching with 350 specialized buyers (already registered) coming mainly from the Midwest, an area with a strong concentration of demand for Italian wine. A strategic bridge between Italy and the first market in the world (1.8 billion euros the value of “made in Italy” exports to the U.S. in 2022), complemented by masterclasses, including the iconic tasting curated by Michaela Morris by “Decanter” with the 6 top wines of Italy awarded with the highest honors at the magazine’s “World Wine Awards”. And with “Vinitaly Tasting”, the wine bar that was created to present international operators with a selection of 66 Italian labels.
“The trade fair debut in the United States”, highlighted Veronafiere President Federico Bricolo, “is the result of an ongoing dialogue with new partners and Italian institutions. It is a choice that goes in the planned direction of an ever-increasing expansion in an international key of Veronafiere's competencies. Our leading fairs must be able to consolidate the leading role in the Verona headquarters and, at the same time, activate a coordinated system action, with public and private partners, abroad. Wine, with Vinitaly, obviously plays a central role, and the Chicago event is an example of this, as is Wine to Asia in China and the zero number of the Italy Area at Wine Vision in Belgrade, scheduled for November 16-19”.
“We want to contribute”, said Veronafiere CEO Maurizio Danese, “to grow a fair that already presents itself as the Italian home of the wine business in an area where Italian wine is by far the market leader in imports, with a 42% market share. In 2022, the value of sales by Italian companies in the Midwest was close to $200 million, well above the French share, which stopped at $101 million. Together with Italian Expo and Ice-Agenzia, with whom we collaborate with increasing profitability, we intend to consolidate our leadership in the macro-region and progressively make Iwe with Vinitaly the reference exhibition event for Italian wine for the entire North American market”. “Often, doing business in our country”, according to Italian Expo president Maurizio Muzzetta, “is an activity that can be considered heroic: for fifteen years, Italian Expo has embraced the mission of offering Italian companies platforms to approach a dynamic market full of opportunities such as the U.S. market; in particular, the Italian Fashion Week in Dallas, numerous festivals for the promotion of Made in Italy and IWE itself, have constituted important showcases for Italian products. In this perspective, the collaboration with Vinitaly will allow IWE to centralize the offer in North America, making the most of the work of our producers, who every day make Italian wine a source of pride and excellence worldwide”. At CineCity Studios, the area hosting the Chicago trade show, also the vernissage (October 21), with a gala dinner, by the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce of Chicago and the Midwest with the presentation of awards “for outstanding achievements and contributions as Italian leaders” to Joe Perillo and Bill Terlato, both from Chicago and respectively an automotive entrepreneur (Perillo Automotive) and wine importer (Terlato Wines). The dinner will be attended by Illinois State Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, among others, as well as Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. The two-day event will also feature masterclasses dedicated to Campania, Sardinia and Veneto, an all-Friuli tasting-cooking show and a tasting of women’s productions. Appointments include a focus on wine tourism and one on sustainable wines, as well as the presentation of the Italian Hospitality Award.