Franciacorta: Silvano Brescianini is betting on quality, exports, sustainability, marketing

Silvano Brescianini, vice president of Barone Pizzini has told WineNews what the guidelines of his mandate will be for the next three years at the helm of the Consorzio della Franciacorta, the number one Italian classic method in numbers, and which future needs to be developed in the world. Brescianini’s guidelines are: growing abroad, but not losing ground in Italy, working on the quality and value of Franciacorta productions, focusing on promotions towards boosting training, continuing to invest in a viniculture model that favors sustainability and biodiversity, communicating the history of the territory in which a lower number of bottles per hectare is produced but longer aging in the cellar. The denomination can count on“ a healthy economy, following an extremely difficult 2017 harvest, compromised by April frosts, while 2018 has been good and generous; however, we are not going to be able to grow in volume until next year, because we have had to deal with our stocks to curb the production decline of 2017, when we lost half of our production”, said Brescianini.
“We must work on quality and positioning, which is exactly what we are doing. We closed 2018 on a slight increase and growth in exports, which is very important for us, because Franciacorta is highly appreciated in Italy”, continued the new president of Franciacorta, “where it always reaps a great success, but we must also work on promoting abroad, training professionals in the sector in Europe, North America and in Asia”. Being able to count on an export share still at 15% (where 6 bottles out of 10 are exported to the favorite destinations, Switzerland, Japan, Germany and the US), and for Brescianini “is definitely a strength. In just twenty years we have increased from 4 to 17.5 million bottles produced - a slow growth that remains on the domestic market, of particularly demanding consumers, and this is a source of great pride. However, we still have to work hard abroad, where, thanks to quality Italian catering that is now everywhere, we have the opportunity to bring Franciacorta to tables all over the world”.
On the winemaking level, which is, after all the most important, “our work will revolve as always on technical research and development projects, in particular regarding sustainability and biodiversity (2/3 of the vineyards are already biologically managed) of the vineyard, supported by the highest level of research work, as a result of the collaboration of four universities: Milan, San Michele all'Adige, Padua and Verona. Regarding communication, we are thinking above all about training and information regarding our territory and its history, about which we will be presenting a book in the upcoming months. On our territory”, concluded the president of the Consortium of Franciacorta, “we produce, on average, a lower number of bottles per hectare, but the longest aging period in the cellar”.