MORE IN CHINA, RUSSIA AND BRAZIL BUT WITH DIFFERENT STYLES, MASS RETAIL AND THE WEB. THESE ARE THE WINE TRENDS ACCORDING TO GABRIELE MICOZZI’S STUDY (LUISS AND UNIVERSITY OF MARCHE) ON 10.000 IMPORTERS AND CONSUMERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

More and more China, Russia and Brazil, each to be conquered with different wines, while mass retail and the Internet are becoming ever more important for wine businesses: these are some of the future trends for wine in the world, according to a study conducted by Gabriele Micozzi, Professor of Marketing at LUISS University (free university of social studies) and at the Polytechnic Institute in Marche, on over 10.000 players in the wine world (3.333 importers and distributors and 6.000 consumers), and WineNews, one of wine lovers’ most clicked sites, has the exclusive.

The study confirmed that the fastest-growing markets for Italian wine are going to be China (+36%), Russia (+28%) and Brazil (+24%). Each one, though, will have to be approached with a different style of wine: China will be go head over heels for sweet and organic reds, Russia will enjoy structured whites with a consistent alcoholic content, and Brazil will like both elegant and “fun” wines. Overall, the niche market of biodynamic wines in these three countries could grow by an unbelievable 48% each year, and if one adds indigenous wines to the mix, the potential growth for Italian wine on these foreign markets over the next three years might come close to 56%.
At the same time, mass retail will be 22% more influential in sales of mass-market wines, but e-commerce will grow as well by 42%, even though, according to the study, 78% of businesses are not prepared for this. Italy’s number one competitor will continue to be France, but other countries should be kept a close watch on as well, since both importers and distributors are going to pay much more attention to wines from Argentina (+24%), Chile (+22%), Africa (+18%) and Australia (+16%) in the next three years. How can purchase choices be influenced, then? According to Micozzi’s research, the influence of traditional wine guides will drop 32%, while bloggers will become more authoritative (+35%). And, generally speaking, the influence of the press will fall 63% in the next three years, while Internet will fill that void. Well, then, what needs to be narrated and offered on world markets? According to the study, younger people and women, who are spearheading the growth of consumption everywhere, want both elegant and “fun” wines, all with a story to tell.

In the world today, wine is chosen mainly because of its territory (69%), vines (46%), awards (42%), the influence of media campaigns and events (40%), and the web (38%). In the future consumers worldwide will be looking for new places of consumption (44%), new wine territories (41%), new forms of communication on the web (38%) and new bottles and new labels (36%).