CHIANTI, MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO AND NERO D’AVOLA ARE THE TOP SELLING WINES OF 2007. EMERGING WINES FOR 2008 ARE NEGROAMARO, MORELLINO DI SCANSANO, FALANGHINA, NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO

Chianti, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Nero d’Avola were the top selling DOC wines in 2007, making up 60% of all Italian wine sales. This is evidence, yet again, that these wines continue to be appreciated by consumers for their quality-price relation and is the reason they continue to hold their ranks as top selling wines.
This classification was confirmed by a recent IRI Infoscan study for the Vinitaly 2008 expo, which will be held in Verona from April 3 to 7 (www.vinitaly.com).
To be exact, the top ten selling DOC, DOCG, IGT wines in 2007 were: Chianti, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Nero d’Avola, Bonarda Oltre Po Pavese, Muller Thurgau, Vermentino di Sardegna, Chianti Classico, Morellino di Scansano, Cannonau di Sardegna, and Lambrusco dell’Emilia.
The denomination wines with the highest rate of increase in sales during 2007 were: Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Negroamaro, Falanghina del Sannio, Gewurztraminer, Barbera d’Alba, Morellino di Scansano, Nobile di Montepulciano, and Verdicchio di Jesi.
”The classification of the wines that were most requested by consumers” – commented Riccardo Francioni, member of the board of directors of Federdistribuzione (the organization that represents the majority of large-scale distribution companies) – “confirms the efforts of modern distribution to constantly give value to local products of excellent quality, which, through distribution circuits, can be bought by consumers throughout Italy.
Negroamaro from Salento or Nero d’Avola from Sicily are the most obvious examples! It must also be noted that the presence of the most famous labels like Morellino di Scansano, Nobile di Montepulciano, and Verdicchio di Jesi, confirms the trend of Italians who have begun to buy high quality wines from supermarkets, currently the top sellers in wine shops. This reality emphasizes the growing importance for the sector to increase its offer in large-scale distribution centers”.
The IRI Infoscan study confirms the increasing importance of large-scale distribution channels (GDO) for wine sales, whose total sales in 2007 reached 587,625,600 liters (almost 6 million hectoliters), for a total value of 1,318,450,944 euros.
If this is added to global data for Italian wines sold through large-scale distribution in 2007 (120,145,216 liters, for a total value of 151,222,096 euros), then overall sales reach an impressive total of 7 million hectoliters worth almost 1,500 million euros.
Further data and discussion on the importance of large-scale distribution will be one of the topics at Vinitaly 2008. A round table discussion titled “Wine & GDO” will be held at Veronafiere on April 4, at 10:30 PM, with representatives from Federvini, Buonitalia, COOP, Conad, and the British supermarket chains Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.

The 2007 classification of the top selling denomination of origin wines sold through large-scale distribution channels (Rank, Wine, Region, Total Value, Total Volume, +/- Percent Change Compared to 2006, Average Price per Bottle)
1 - Chianti (Toscana) – 35,409,171 euros, 8,870,141 liters, -3.6%, euro 2.99
2 - Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – 21,353,778 euros, 8,090,853 liters, 4.1%, euro 1.98
3 - Nero d’Avola (Sicily) – 22,999,438 euros, 7,646,568 liters, 24.1%, euro 2.26
4 - Bonarda Oltrepo’ Pavese – 15,268,369 euros, 4,253,019 liters, 9.1%, euro 2.69
5 - Muller Thurgau (Trentino Alto Adige), 15,082,204 euros, 3,104,239 liters, 8.2%, euro 3.64
6 - Vermentino di Sardegna, 13,818,993 euros, 2,619,760 liters, 4.8%, euro 3.96
7- Chianti Classico, 12,640,448 euros, 1,780,940 liters, -5.5%, euro 5.32
8 - Morellino di Scansano, 12,440,020 euros, 1,914,853 liters, 16.3%, euro 4.87
9 - Cannonau di Sardegna, 9,249,302 euros, 1,553,684 liters, -2.9%, euro 4.46
10 - Lambrusco dell’Emilia, 9,140,198 euros, 4,136,406 liters, 6.7%, euro 1.66
Source: Supermarkets starting from minimum 100 to 400 square meters. Year, 2007.
Iri Infoscan Research Institute

The 2007 classification of the denomination of origin wines with the highest growth rate for sales through large-scale distribution channels in 2007
+/- Pecent Change between 2007 and 2006
1 - Syrah 88.7
2 - Cabernet Sauvignon 31.1
3 - Negroamaro 30.4
4 - Falanghina del Sannio 21.7
5 - Gewurztraminer 18.6
6 - Barbera Alba 17.2
7 - Nero d'avola 14.1
8 - Morellino di Scansano 13.9
9 - Nobile di Montepulciano 13.1
10 - Verdicchio di Jesi 11.7
Source: Supermarkets starting from minimum 100 to 400 square meters. Iri Infoscan Research Institute