More resources for wine promotion, and more. Announcement by Minister Lollobrigida

“We are working to include in the budget a substantial increase in the resources available to the Italian Trade Agency (ITA, led by Matteo Zoppas, ed.) for the next three years (currently €150 million per year, ed.). Together with representatives from the supply chain, we are planning a major promotional campaign for wine linked to the recognition of Italian cuisine as UNESCO World Heritage (expected at the end of the year), of which wine is a fundamental element. We would like to create a commercial that speaks to young people and explains to them that wine is part of our country’s identity and culture, that it is an ambassador for the regions and a lever for tourism, but above all, we will explain that wine consumed in moderation and with meals is not harmful to health. And we are thinking of a slogan. Among the possibilities, I really like “Italy is in it””. These words were spoken by the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, to “Il Sole 24 Ore” at Vinitaly.Usa in Chicago a few days ago, at a time of great concern for Italian wine, especially in the US, which is grappling with tariffs but also with changing consumption patterns among the younger generations. The focus is therefore back on promotion, a strategy that appeals to the Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv). “Allowing - through additional resources to be provided for in the budget - the intensification of the presence of Italian wine in the United States and in the most promising countries, coinciding with an increasingly evident situation of difficulty in the sector, is - according to Uiv - the best possible response”. According to the president of Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), “Italian wine is a strategic asset for Italian manufacturing, with a foreign trade balance that generated a surplus of over €7.5 billion last year, but the combination of tariffs, the decline of the dollar, and the purchasing power in our main market now exposes the sector to the risk of downsizing. For this reason, we have long believed it is essential to implement a shock therapy in terms of promotion, and the government’s work to significantly increase the ceiling allocated to ICE-Agenzia through the budget is a step in this direction”. The United States, Uiv points out, “is the main market for Italian wine, with 24% of foreign sales destined for overseas markets, worth €1.9 billion in 2024. Over the last decade, Italian companies have invested significant budgets in promotion on a global scale (€1 billion through the OCM Promotion instrument alone), contributing to a 60% growth in exports during this period (€8.1 billion in 2024)”.