At the 75 year celebration of the Academy of Vine and Wine: the future of wine is change

Celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the Italian Academy of Vine and Wine were held recently in Siena, at the Santa Maria alla Scala Museum, the city where the Academy was established on July 30, 1949, upon the proposal of the National Wine Committee, with the aim of creating a center to promote progress in Italian winemaking. Many topics were discussed at the celebration / round table event, including confidence in the future, despite everything that is happening globally, as well as awareness that the “new” cannot be stopped, starting with the phenomenon of “dealcoholized” wines, to which Italy has also opened its doors, in the wake of other European countries, France first and foremost. Other aspects were discussed, such as climate change, shifting consumption, the vineyard area destined to decrease, wine tourism that is a resource, but also a threat, if you are not able to “handle” it, and sustainability, in which wine boasts a pioneering role. There are definitely many challenges to face openly, with curiosity, solidarity and an overall vision aware that one cannot shield oneself from innovation, but rather, must study the “countermoves” to transform them into opportunities.
Rosario Di Lorenzo, president of The Academy of Vine and Wine, started out the event, presenting a book on the salient stages of the Academy's history. Then, a round table, on the theme, “The Academy and the future challenges of the Italian wine sector”, moderated by the journalist, Alessandro Torcoli, Managing Director of “Civiltà del Bere”. Participants were Riccardo Cotarella, president of Assoenologi; Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of Unione Italiana Vini - UIV, Attilio Scienza, one of the leading experts in viticulture and oenology and former president of the National Wine Committee, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, founder of Movimento Turismo del Vino and former leader of Donne del Vino, Giuseppe Liberatore, director of Valoritalia, and Piero Mastroberardino, vice president of Federvini. Attilio Scienza, one of the most influential voices in the wine world, explained there are aspects that must be reviewed by looking to the future, and taking a different approach, more closely tied to agricultural roots, and “also moving away from the concept of terroir, in the strict sense, which we took from France, and instead, consider it more broadly. The vineyard lives in an enormous environmental context, which we have ignored. What needs to be done is to recover and restore its complex relationship with nature”. Lamberto Frescobaldi, at the helm of UIV, and one of the most important historic wineries in Italy, said, “our sector is constantly evolving and we need to look to the future. There has been an evolution in consumption, and we are moving towards sporadic consumption in Italy. We no longer meet at the table at lunch time, to open a bottle of wine with the family. Instead, the meeting is in the evening, when we drink perhaps sparkling wines, a product that is doing very well. As a matter of fact, it is doing so well that there is no longer a Region that does not produce it. Sparkling wine is now overtaking white wine. In the US, consumption data revealed 37% sparkling wines and 38% white wine. The trend is favored by the success of cocktails, among the public, where sparkling wines are often the basis”. Regarding dealcoholized wine, according to Frescobaldi, “it was very important to have kept it under the “wine umbrella”, we have control of this product. Think about the consequences if the “beverage” sector had managed it. But, do we like it? I don't know, I'm not crazy about the idea of this product, but it exists, it is an innovation. We need to be curious because we are talking about things that will come. I also see that the viticultural potential has slowed down, and we will continue to lose vineyards. Consumption has dropped, so we must find different outlets to bring people closer to our world. Who knows, maybe the consumer will move from a dealcoholized product to a superior product”. On the future of wine, Riccardo Cotarella, head of Assoenologi and one of the most renowned oenologists at an international level, said, “we are facing continual challenges, we are never at the top and we can never say that we have achieved tranquility in the vineyard and the winery. Centuries-old glaciers are melting, animal species will become extinct, and so will some plants. We are experiencing a different situation in the wine sector. Climate change has led, in many cases, to early ripening, which makes great wines. We must stop the phenomenon of “do-it-yourself winemakers”, a vineyard cannot be managed alone. If we approach the climate crisis professionally, we will have better results than in the past”. On “dealcoholized” wines, Cotarella said “a wine without alcohol is like a person without blood; the alcohol binds all the components of the wine. What made us change our minds a bit was France, the first Nation to believe in dealcoholized wines. I recently tasted them and they are drinkable, even though I wouldn’t call them wine. Perhaps consumers will gradually approach wine starting from here”.
Piero Mastroberardino, vice-president of Federvini, explained that “this sector must get used to a reversal of the trend. The “pie” is no longer growing, so we must ask ourselves how to remunerate investments, to have flows and profitability. We must try to develop a new competitive advantage, explore the unexplored, find new paths. We are experiencing a difficult phase in scientific research, as there is a lack of a business culture, the ability of producers to stand out in an extraordinary sector, which produces wealth”.
An interesting aspect that can lead to further growth, but that deserves attention and constantly monitoring developments, is wine tourism. The trend generates a cascade of spin-offs, but does not spread evenly, as emphasized mainly in certain areas, creating the risk of being distorted. Donatella Cinelli Colombini, an entrepreneur among the founders of the phenomenon in Italy, has underlined that “tourism is growing and will continue to grow. We need to work in groups, find a way to make tourists go to wineries, and choose the type of tourist. Wineries open to the public are important, but generate small flows, except for a few instances. In Chianti Classico, we talk about “overtourism", though other areas of Tuscany, from Montalcino to Montepulciano, Bolgheri and San Gimignano are not exempt from it. In some places, there are no accommodations available for the agricultural workers. Relocating is a necessity, and overtourism must be limited. The tourist destination has a life cycle, like any product, and tourism consumes destinations faster when factors such as the gap between the income of tourists and that of residents arise. We often talk about small and fragile destinations, so local identity must be safeguarded. Wine tourism has the advantage of creating high-margin income channels, and laying the foundations for stable future consumers. Creating circuits and teaming up is essential, as the Wine Routes have not worked. Events are held abroad, where tourism originates, like Prosecco has done and not instead where tourists arrive. We need to push a joint tourist product. We have enormous potential, let’s learn to use it. In the future, artificial intelligence will have greater weight, as in the USA the construction of a trip already starts like this. But the problem is it will benefit those who are already strong”.
Finally, Giuseppe Liberatore, Director of Valoritalia, focused on sustainability. It is the central theme today, and will probably be even more decisive, especially in the social, environmental and economic aspects on which the Equalitas certification is based. It is a protocol under the aegis of Federdoc, and is a reference model for many wineries in Italy. “Sustainability is one of the aspects of the future. Wine has moved quickly and very well. Talking about sustainability in 2016 was atypical, but I must say that we have done a great job that will position us well in the world. In the Equalitas sustainability system, objectives are constantly evolving and there is a third party as certifier. At the moment”, Liberatore concluded, “there are 405 Equalitas certified companies, including Spain and Portugal, which generate 8 billion euros in turnover, 8 million hectoliters of wine and 1.1 billion bottles”.