“Wine Spectator”: “Italian wine has no substitute in the U.S. and we will continue to support it”

“We cannot predict what will happen with the tariffs, but we will continue to support great Italian wine that has no substitute in the States and must be on American tables. Tariffs divide, wine unites”. There is a “sentiment” of hope and confidence in the words of “Wine Spectator”, represented by executive editor Jeffery Lindenmuth and senior editors Alison Napjus and Bruce Sanderson, on stage at OperaWine 2025, the only event signed by the authoritative U.S. magazine outside of the U.S. territory with Vintaly-Veronafiere (and whom WineNews interviewed), and with the “grand tasting” that serves as a prologue to Vinitaly 2025, the world’s leading Italian wine fair, staged, today, at Gallerie Mercatali in Verona. An appointment that celebrates great Italian wine standard-bearer in the States and beyond, thanks to 131 selected wines that are synonymous with excellence in the American market and beyond. A selection that for “Wine Spectator” was a “not too complicated job because we increased the number of wineries selected even though it is only a small part of the great Italian wine that is produced. We choose it “blind”, tasting wine from wineries that have history and represent quality and diversity”. But today’s day could not but reserve ample space for the topic of the duties imposed by President Donald Trump’s U.S. even on EU products (at 20%), and from which Italian wine, which sees in the States its reference market, is not excluded.
Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, speaking after a brief greeting from Justice Minister Carlo Nordio (“we are in the temple of good taste where Italian excellence can be savored. The first miracle of Jesus was to turn water into wine”, said the Guardiasigilli), before focusing on this theme he recalled how “this year we touch the Italian export record in the wine sector and I think that is the reason for the smiles I have encountered here today. I will see more in the coming hours certainly due to the good wine we will drink, but especially the thousands of buyers who are here to close new contracts and further increase our nation’s exports”. On the issue of tariffs, Lollobrigida said that “we with the United States cannot see it, probably not even as the European Union on the trade level. However, Italy on one thing nobody beats it: it is a food superpower. We have unlimited quality and the ability to play on a level playing field with anyone, even the United States. The tariffs have arrived, and we will carefully understand what the downstream effects of these choices will be, which we do not agree with, because we are an exporting nation, so market closures do not excite us. However, we need to increase markets, without imagining giving up the ones we have, but, rather, consolidating them. Our invitation to the European Union will be this: diplomacy, and reasonableness to continue to sell in the United States, which is the goal that entrepreneurs must have and that a government must have to continue to guarantee wealth and work with a product like wine that is inextricably linked to the land”. Lollobrigida also addressed attacks on wine, another issue of concern that will be addressed, the minister said, with EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen and, in particular, with EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, who is coming to Vinitaly. “Wine is a flagship of Italian exports, we have the need to increase interventions to protect this product and, as Europe, the need to stop criminalizing it: there is no duty that can do as much damage as the constant criminalization of what we do good and beautiful, as sometimes, too often, happens in our Europe”. With the Minister also announcing how “from today the tricolor will be present on the bands of our wines, starting with Docg bottles. A strong and symbolic choice: to enhance the Italian character”, he wrote on Facebook, “wine is one of the pillars of our export and deserves adequate tools to be recognized, protected and promoted all over the world. The bands, born to fight counterfeiting, now also become a sign of identity and a communication tool for the entire supply chain. It is a step forward shared by producers, consortia and operators, which may pave the way for other Made in Italy sectors as well. An important signal on the eve of Vinitaly, where Italy will once again show all its excellence. Italy has a story to tell. And every bottle can do it, with pride, also thanks to the tricolor”.
VeronaFiere’s managing director, Adolfo Rebughini stressed that despite the duties, the commitment will always be maximum in terms of promotion. And, ahead of tomorrow’s ribbon-cutting of Vinitaly 2025 (April 6-9), Federico Bricolo, VeronaFiere president, sends a message of confidence to Italian wine: “we have confirmed last year’s buyers, we will relaunch our events in the United States”. The president of Agenzia Ice, Matteo Zoppas, recalled that “from today all goods that are shipped to America will have an additional tax. We have to put more effort into it to be able to be stronger than these taxes. To have “Wine Spectator”, which manages to make a selection of Italian wines, is a testament to how important and strong Italian wine is as a brand in the world, a result of what have been the efforts, the sacrifices, but above all the work of the highest quality of all Italian entrepreneurs. We know that Italian wine is not an end in itself, but it carries the whole supply chain: it is an interest that concerns the whole Italian territory. Today we have a government that is representing and pushing us very well. We know that agribusiness has 70 billion euros in exports and a very strong input has been given precisely by Minister Francesco Lollobrigida to reach 100 billion euros, and the protagonists are the entrepreneurs: I am sure that the duties will be an incentive to close ranks together with the Country System and still aim for that 100 billion”.