“BOROLI WINE FORUM” - THE FUTURE OF WINE ACCORDING TO PARKER: FRANCE “DISASTER”, NEW STARS NAPA VALLEY, SPAIN AND CENTRAL-SOUTHERN ITALY “DECLINE” ... HLASTALA (WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY) AND CONTROVERSIAL BREATHALYZER AND DE CASTRO...

What is the future of wine? The discussion about the challenges and competitiveness on domestic, international and especially emerging markets often gets drowned in thousands of words. Robert Parker, one of the most important wine critics in the world has instead drawn up a 10 point “list”, including the “disaster” in France, the “decline” in Napa Valley, the “new stars” Spain and central-southern Italy and wines from totally unexpected countries to take a look at the future of wine according to Antonio Galloni, the European editor of Robert Parker’s “The Wine Advocate” through the reflections of important international wine experts at the 2010 edition of the “Boroli Wine Forum” in Castiglione Falletto (Cuneo) at the La Brunella winery on the discussion of “Wine: what is its future”. Brian Larky, winemaker and founder of “Dalla Terra”, one of the most important American import companies of selected wines, will talk about the American market. Paolo De Castro, President of the Agriculture Commission in the EU parliament, Ernesto Abbona of Marquis di Barolo and the wine producer Michele Satta, will explain their “views”. Professor Michael Peter Hlastala of the “Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine” of Washington State University will talk about current issues and Costantino Charrére, President of FIVI (The Italian federation of independent winemakers) is also “ready to elaborate a petition to the courts about the controversial breathalyzer”: “The alcohol test based on breath has no solid scientific basis and should be discarded as a means of measuring blood alcohol concentration”.

Here is Robert Parker’s vision of the future: 1) the use of specialized sites will become commonplace and information will be spread in a more democratic way; 2) wars will break out to get the best wines because of the pressure of new markets such as Asia, South America and Central and Eastern Europe: a case of Bordeaux that costs four thousand dollars will go up to 10 thousand dollars 3) France will have to resize: the globalization of wine will have disastrous consequences for this country. Even though about 5% of producers will continue to put top wines on the market, many others will fail, 4) corks will disappear: by 2015 the majority of bottles will no longer have a cork, but screw on caps; 5) Spain is the new star of the industry and by 2015, the top regions will be Torno, Jumila and Priorat; 6) Malbec grape has burst on the scene and within 10 years the greatness of Argentinean wines made with Malbec grapes will be recognized by everyone; 7) the California Central Coast will rule America, and the Santa Barbara area will take over Napa Valley; 8) wines of Central and Southern Italy will increase in prestige- Umbrian, Basilicata, Sardinian and Sicilian wines are becoming increasingly popular; 9) There will be an increasing number of good wines at good prices mainly produced in Europe and Australia; 10) the password will become “diversity”. We will have quality wines from the most unexpected countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Mexico, China, Japan, Turkey, Lebanon and perhaps even India.

Brian Larky’s vision instead is concentrated on the trends and challenges of the American market. On one hand Larky talks of an increase in quantity because the American market has had a great increase in quantity in the last three years, which is expected to continue in the future. Consumer expectations have changed: they now expect more for less and most wines are sold at less than twenty dollars a bottle. According to the winemaker, even the wineries have changed and are more production rather than market efficient and 0.5% of the highest quality producers can still sell at any price. In short, according to Larky, it’s a buyer’s market because demand is falling while the offer (vineyards) is continuing to produce. On the other hand, what works is the fact that Americans want wines that tell the story of the territory and the sense of precise geographical location, information and knowledge.
Generic international styles work well in the lower part of the market. The key element is value. You can find wine at ten dollars or one hundred dollars a bottle. According to Larky a successful brand must offer quality, value for price, image and good distribution. “As producers,” says the winemaker, “we cannot simply look at the U.S. market from the consumer’ standpoint, but we should realize that it is the importer / distributor who controls the business, writes checks and decides which wines to promote”. In addition, Larky adds, if “originally Italy taught simplicity to America - in design, fashion, architecture, cuisine - now the roles are reversed. Now it’s the Americans telling the Italians that less is more”. This means: apply these concepts to wines, offer a smaller range (“each wine must earn its place in the spotlight”) become expert in one sector (“instead of knowing a little about everything, know one thing well”), focus on lower costs, reducing overhead costs, increasing savings and profits. Because, Larky concludes, “we still want indigenous species, known only to connoisseurs, produced by single cru vineyards, but only related to market demand”.
And, speaking of current wine issues, Professor Peter Michael Hlastala launches his provocation about the use of the Breathalyzer, saying, ”Over the last sixty years, the alcohol test was based on a single unproven assumption, that the last part of breath exhaled had the same alcohol concentration as in the alveolar (deep lung)”. According to Hlastala, “it was assumed that alcohol on the breath is in direct correlation with the alcohol present in venous blood. Our research group has demonstrated, through a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches, that in fact the alcohol comes from the pulmonary airways and arterial blood in the surrounding area. The concentration of alcohol in the breath depends on how much breath is exhaled and the size of the lung of the individual. The test based on the breath alcohol concentration does not have,” concludes Hlastala, “a solid scientific basis and should be discarded as a means of measuring blood alcohol concentration”.

The President of Fivi, Constantino Charrère, states that the cultural identity of Italian and European production areas are at risk because the Common Agriculture Policy (PAC) is mainly oriented towards competition and the market. He says “nothing has been done to streamline the bureaucratic system, nothing has been done to facilitate intra-Community trade, vine eradication measures are funding explants while the new law on Doc encourages excess production. What’s more, the new control system increases the producers’ costs. The results are well-known: like citrus, tomatoes and milk, grape prices have reached historic lows, in some cases failing to guarantee even the costs of harvesting. On the market, traders buy and bottle low cost bulk wine, which helps to devalue the price, the Appellations of Origin and the work of the winemakers. “In this difficult situation,” added Charrère, “we notice that wine consumption has dramatically decreased to make room for drinks that have nothing to do with our history and culture. Industrial beverages of various kinds, alcoholic, not better defined stimulants, accompanied by heavy advertising, have a strong grip on consumers.” Charrère continues, “what we call an “attack on the cultural identity of wine” added to the demonizing campaign of alcohol consumption, which although legitimate, wrongly hits everyone who drinks wine in moderation. We believe that this neo-prohibitionist climate induces controllers to use the Breathalyzer in an exaggerated, excessive and inappropriate way and consumers to totally eliminate wine as a daily food consumer product. Producers’ organizations have been too silent on this issue,” points out the President, “and Fivi, continuing the research conducted for years in Italy by Professor Vincenzo Zappalà, has opened a serious and detailed debate on this issue with the aim of involving all of society. We therefore turned to the scientific world, asking for the help of a world-renowned authority, Professor Hlastala, who has demonstrated the fallacy of the Breathalyzer currently used by the police for controls”. What’s to be done then? “The idea we propose,” Charrère says, “is to start reviewing the real value of the “Mediterranean diet”, which is a model of consumption and lifestyle and has been universally recognized by Unesco as International World Heritage. We believe that wine is the main element of this heritage and we propose the creation of a European-wide project, which will recognize the cultural and nutritional values of wine in the food chain. Will, though, the current Breathalyzer test stop this project? We think it will not because Fivi will make sure that this control instrument is replaced with another equally valid one that is more respectful of individual dignity, culture and economy. To this end, our Federation is about to issue a petition to the judicial court to ask for a sentence on the Breathalyzer. “Fivi,” said the President, “supports and promotes the culture of consumer awareness, and believes that driving under the influence should be forcibly stopped. It is not our intention to create a united front against controls or law enforcement agencies, including WHO and ISS. Fivi however, is convinced that something must be done with a special focus on young people and that schools must also participate.”

Focus – “The future of wine” according to the President of the
Agriculture Committee of the EU Parliament Paolo De Castro, Ernesto Abbona of Marquis di Barolo and wine producer Michele Satta

“There are a myriad of challenges that will accompany the evolution of the European and international agricultural system over the next several years. There is a need to meet a rising demand for food, to the point of contributing to the sustainability of growth processes, increasing the level of competence of the environmental performance of agriculture”, said the President of the Agriculture Committee of the EU Parliament, Paolo De Castro. He adds “this perspective, which gives the food industry a new leadership and a new strategic importance, must engage in a very different scenario than in the recent past. The speed and intensity of demographic, economic, environmental and institutional changes expose the sector to a condition of progressive uncertainty and risk due to partially unknown factors, such as price fluctuation”.

De Castro says, “It is a new situation, which coincides with the economic and financial crisis that is threatening the continuity of a large part of our manufacturing base. In this context, even though wine is also a sector hit by the crisis and uncertainty, it continues to be one of the pillars of Italian food and has always been a major player in the world production scenario. It is an area that makes quality one of the main competitive levers and over the last five years, on the average has been the second largest world producer: the first in volume and second in value, behind France. “Today,” said De Castro, “we are entering into the heart of the PAC (Community Agriculture Policies) reform which will come into effect after 2013.

The Commission presented the communication on the future of the PAC to the European Parliament. It is a preliminary document which does not discuss specific issues, but it represents a good basis on which to build an ambitious reform and its overall objectives coincide with the view expressed by Parliament on the relationship of the PAC of 8 July 2010”. De Castro continues, “there are also positive signs from management against eliminating historical references, aware that great differences in the financial framework of Member States could lead to a distorting effect with dramatic consequences on territories and sectors. This also applies indirectly to the wine sector, even though it continues to be governed by the last reform of 2008, it may also be exposed, like other sectors, to the risk of a distorting effect of the financial framework with dramatic consequences for some of our highly productive regions.

“That’s why,” De Castro adds, “during Parliament’s examination of the EU proposal on the future of the PAC, our commitment and responsibility is to ensure that Member States are guaranteed an adequate degree of flexibility to manage the elements of the single payment scheme in the best way possible and to share resources among the same elements. This principle was established in the report issued on 8 July 2010”.

“Other important matters pending in the Commission report concern,” adds De Castro, “the lack of tools in the CMO to manage and deal with market emergencies and the absence of measures to balance and stabilize relationships in the weakest links of the food chain and the downstream stages. This is one of the most important aspects in terms of organizational growth of the production base. Moreover, the excellent quality that all Italians are rightly proud of is not enough unless it turns into income. We need new forms of organization to be strong on the markets, and we must not forget that beyond the current crisis there is a global demand that could exceed the average long-term supply. “This is the reason why,” according to De Castro, “international markets now represent an obligatory direction for development. And if we are not able to respond quickly with effective products: quality, service and price, other highly skilled international operators will exploit this global demand. “And”, adds the President of the Agriculture Committee, in this context, “the orientation towards exports that characterizes the Italian wine sector, about 20% of Italian food exports, is testimony to the excellent work being done by our producers who more and more are accepting the challenge also of the international emerging markets. What we need to do is continue along this road with less suspicion towards Europe and be aware that the EU represents opportunities for our companies. That’s why,” De Castro concluded, “the next reform of the Common Agricultural Policy represents an important opportunity to strengthen the role of the wine sector in the European agro-food system and to revive prospects of growth and competitiveness”.

According to Ernesto Abbona, head of Marquis di Barolo, “today wine is no longer considered a beverage food as it was for our ancestors, but is seen as a pleasant drink to be consumed at the table to enhance the flavor of food as well as entertain guests. Wine is a delight, joy and pleasure and will continue to be so, though of course it should be consumed in moderation. Abbona adds, “The basis of my conviction that the future of wine will be rosy, is that globalization has also encouraged cultural exchanges and entire nations, entire populations have discovered and are passionate about wine. India and China are the new Frontier”. Abbona continues, ”this process will be possible and the impulse will be stronger the more evenly income produced by intense commercial activity is distributed to avoid the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few people. As a matter of fact, concluded Abbona, “only a fair distribution of resources will make sharing the pleasure of wine become a daily habit for many. This will allow keeping and expanding the wine heritage that, we must not forget, in addition to producing income permits a water balance for entire regions, avoiding, as we have already seen, environmental disasters caused by neglect or abandonment of agricultural areas”.

Michele Satta recognizes in Parker’s vision “his statements that I have read are the same as my experience today: a percentage of the wine market will continue to have high-end products all over the world and also in major countries that are not yet consumers of wine. There will be plenty of good wines at low prices and the best will get top prices. We are interested in these wines,” said Satta, “that are considered the best and well paid. What then are the characteristics of the best wines of the future? And how do I make sure of the quality? I would like to explain what quality we should aim for and what aspect will make our wine a heritage and not reproducible. The first characteristic is easy because it is inherent in our wines. Italian wines are successful on the markets because they are good, enjoyable and go very well with food.
“My statement,” adds Satta, “should not be disregarded because it corrects a certain current attitude. My wine is considered good because the vineyard and the winemaker are also good and are essentially loyal to the area. We need to stop being insecure and trying to make our wines “international” - in other words, anonymous and not characteristic. We need to keep making our typical wines and here is the most important point: our wine, my wine. This means I am not proposing just a technical product, fruit of the wisdom of management where the technological contribution determines the final result, but I’m talking about and bringing a product with a history to the consumer. It is personal history. I can say my wine because there is the name of a person linked to its history, making them unique in the art and culture of the territory”.

“The second aspect,” Satta continues, “is more challenging, but fascinating. Granted, it is true that the world is expanding to new economies and though the new consumers do not often have a deep understanding of the culture of wine, they want the best and that is where we must succeed in order to impose our style and standards. We must be able to successfully communicate that the best wines come from a unique production territory, are not reproducible and are linked to the name of a real person, who you can meet and are the result of a history of art and culture. Only this kind of wine can win over the more lucrative markets,” Satta concludes, “and this is the challenge of the future scenario. We cannot produce the same quality of wines as other countries, imitating an international model. We instead must remain firm about our characteristics and above all, tell about and let our culture be perceived. It will be a brilliant mix of individualism and collaboration”