Tenuta San Guido, Antinori and Frescobaldi: these are the top Italian wine brands for profitability

The big names of Italian wine, the 106 companies that, together, are worth 62% of the sector’s turnover, will close 2020 with a drop in turnover of 3.2%, in line with the 2020 negative trend of the wine world. An expected result, better than many other economic sectors of the Belpaese, son of a decline in sales on the domestic market of 10.2% and a growth in exports of 2.4%, as revealed by the analysis of Anna Di Martino, the prestigious signature of the economy and wine, for the “Corriere Economia”. The 65 private companies and 41 cooperatives (which are worth 44.5% of the total turnover examined, but only 35.9% of exports and a good 57% of the domestic market) examined produced a total turnover of 6.7 billion euros, of which 3.9 billion from exports and 2.7 billion from the Italian market.
One of the most interesting data is the one on the profitability of Italian wineries in 2020, taking into consideration only private companies (and not cooperatives), and analyzing the ratio between gross operating margin (ebitda) and turnover, revealing a podium of absolute blazon: Tenuta San Guido, a symbol of Bolgheri and home of Sassicaia, led by the Incisa della Rocchetta family, with an index of 59.6%, Marchesi Antinori, where the work of Piero Antinori and his daughters Albiera, Allegra and Alessia Antinori, along with CEO Renzo Cotarella, led in 2020 to an ebitda/turnover ratio of 42%, and Marchesi Frescobaldi (with Ornellaia and Masseto), the other historic brand of Tuscan wine production, which, under the guidance of Lamberto Frescobaldi and CEO Giovanni Geddes Da Filicaja, reached profitability of 36.6%. In Tuscany there is also position no. 4, occupied by Castellani, Piergiorgio Castellani’s group with properties and vineyards all over the region, capable of reaching profitability of 34.6%. Behind, there is the Gruppo Santa Margherita of the Marzotto family, led by managing director Beniamino Garofalo, which has gathered in the course of time important brands, from Ca’ del Bosco to Cà Maiol in Lombardy, passing by Kettmeir in Alto Adige, Lamole di Lamole in Chianti Classico and Mesa in Sardinia, reaching in 2020 a profitability of 33.9%. At the number 6 position, with a profitability of 33%, there is the Sicilian brand Planeta, managed by the Planeta family, followed by another winery protagonist of the Renaissance of Sicilian wine, Donnafugata, owned by Antonio and Josè Rallo, with an ebitda/turnover ratio of 24.6%. In position no. 8 there is Fantini Group from Abruzzo, founded and led by Valentino Sciotti, one of the most important Italian wineries for its propensity to export, with a profitability of 22%. Not far behind stands Carpineto, a group increasingly rooted in the large territories of Tuscany, owned by the Zaccheo and Sacchet families, with an ebitda/turnover ratio of 21.5%. At the end of the ranking, at number 10, there are Famiglia Cotarella, founded by brothers Renzo and Riccardo Cotarella, and now led by Dominga, Marta and Enrica Cotarella, with the profitability of 21.3%, and Cusumano, a winery led by Diego and Alberto Cusumano with a profitability of 21%, 2%, while just below 21% profitability there are Gruppo Lunelli (20.7%), which means the brand of Trentodoc Ferrari but also Tenute Lunelli, between Trentino, Montefalco and Colline Pisane, and the historical brand of Franciacorta Guido Berlucchi (19.75%) of Ziliani family.
Another fundamental index, in order to understand the solidity, the specific weight, but also, if not above all, the rooting in the territory of big wine companies, even in this case private ones, is the one concerning the number of private owned hectares. In the first place, and this is not a novelty, there is Marchesi Antinori: among Tenuta Tignanello, Badia a Passignano, Pèppoli, Antinori in Chianti Classico, Pian delle Vigne in Montalcino, Tenuta Guado al Tasso in Bolgheri, Tenuta Montenisa in Franciacorta, Prunotto in Piedmont, Castello della Sala in Umbria, the newest one, Jermann, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, as well as Antica and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, there are 2,967 hectares of vineyards in production. Only three other wineries are above 1,000 hectares: Zonin 1821, with 1,990 hectares divided among the nine Italian estates (Ca’ Bolani in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Castello di Albola in Chianti Classico, Abbazia Monte Oliveto in San Gimignano, Castello del Poggio in Piedmont, Oltrenero, in Oltrepò Pavese, Feudo Principi di Butera in Sicily, Rocca di Montemassi in Maremma, Masseria Altemura in Apulia) and those in Virginia and Chile, Marchesi Frescobaldi, with 1. 434 hectares in Tuscany and 44 hectares in Friuli with Attems, and Castello Banfi, with 1,040 hectares in Montalcino, making it the reference winery for Brunello di Montalcino. At position no. 5, Tenute Genagricola, the agri-food holding of Generali Italia, the largest Italian agricultural company with its 13. It is the largest Italian agricultural company with its 13,000 hectares of cultivated land, of which 900 are dedicated to viticulture, divided between 7 wineries in Italy, with the brands Borgo Magredo, Bricco dei Guazzi, Costa Arènte, Gregorina, Poggiobello, Solonio, Tenuta Sant’Anna, Torre Rosazza, Vineyards V8+, and one in Romania, Dorvena, followed by the Terra Moretti Vino group, with Francesca Moretti at the helm of 896 hectares of properties, from Bellavista to Contadi Castaldi in Franciacorta to Petra in Suvereto, from Acquagiusta Tenuta La Badiola in Maremma to Teruzzi in San Gimignano, to Sella & Mosca in Sardinia. And again, Tommasi Family Estates, a wine center with a heart in Veneto but present, with 572 hectares, in five different regions: the historical estates in Veneto, among Valpolicella, Garda Lake and Soave, Tenuta Caseo in Oltrepò Pavese, Casisano (Brunello) and Poggio al Tufo (Maremma) in Tuscany, Masseria Surani (Manduria) in Apulia and Paternoster (Vulture) in Basilicata. Then the Sicilian Cusumano, with 525 hectares, Gruppo Santa Margherita, with 498 hectares, and Feudi San Gregorio, a brand from Irpinia led by Antonio Capaldo with estates in Friuli Venezia Giulia (Sirch), in Bolgheri (Campo alle Comete), on Etna (Federico Graziani), in Basilicata (Basilisco), in Apulia (Ognissole) and in Cilento (Tempa di Zoè), with 460 hectares of property. Out of the Top 10, but still above 200 hectares of vineyards owned, it is worth mentioning Bertani Domains, the wine group which is part of the pharmaceutical company Angelini, led by director of operations Andrea Lonardi, with 457 hectares between Bertani, piece of history of Valpolicella, Val di Suga, in the land of Brunello di Montalcino, TreRose, in the land of Nobile di Montepulciano, and San Leonino, in Chianti Classico, Puiatti, among the leading brands of Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Fazi Battaglia, the historical name of Marche and Verdicchio. And again, the Sicilian Tasca d’Almerita (411 hectares) and Planeta (362 hectares), Masi Agricola (329 hectares between Veneto and Maremma), the only wine producer listed on Aim, the Amarone label Allegrini (266 hectares), the Campania-based Mastroberardino (250 hectares), the Sardinian Argiolas (230 hectares) and the Sicilian Donnafugata (226 hectares).
In the shortlist of 21 wineries able to turnover more than 100 million euros in 2020, for a total of 3.93 billion euros (in line with 2019 turnovers), there is big news, about which WineNews has written several times: Botter, which closed the year at 230 million euros in sales (+5.99%), the third largest Italian wine group, will go on to form, along with Mondodelvino, which closed 2020 at 117.5 million euros, the second largest group in the sector, following the acquisition of both at the beginning of the year by the Clessidra fund, an investment holding controlled by the Pesenti Family. Based on financial statements as of December 31, 2020, at the top are the two largest cooperatives in Italy: Cantine Riunite & Civ - Gruppo Italiano Vini, with 581.3 million euros in turnover (-6.83%), and Caviro Group, at 362 million euros (+10%). With Botter on the third step of the podium, in fourth place, comes Marchesi Antinori, with 214.5 million euros (-12.7%), then, again from the cooperative world, Cavit, at 209.7 million euros (+9.58%). Enormous leap forward for Italian Wine Brands, which arrives at 204.3 million euros of turnover in 2020, 29.7% more than in 2019. at position no. 8 Enoitalia (200.8 million euros, +0.75%), then Gruppo Mezzacorona (193.6 million euros, +3.73%) and Zonin 1821 (189.5 million euros, -7.55%), to close the top ten. Then, in the group of companies able, despite the pandemic and the consequent economic crisis, to invoice more than 100 million euros even in 2020, Gruppo Santa Margherita (172 million euros, -9.22%), La Marca Vini e Spumanti (152.9 million euros, +8.59%), Terre Cevico (127.3 million euros, +3.95%), Cantina di Soave (121 million euros, -11.03%), Schenk Italian Wineries (118 million euros, +6.16%), Mondodelvino Group (117.5 million euros, +5.7%), Marchesi Frescobaldi (110.7 million euros, -12.49%), Contri Spumanti (107.3 million euros, +13.41%), Ruffino (106.3 million euros, -20.19%), Collis Veneto Wine Group (105 million euros, -3.67%) and Gruppo Vi. V.O. Cantine (101.1 million euros, -5.96%).
Analyzing the turnover of wine companies, dividing them between cooperatives and private wineries, in the top 10 we find Cantine Riunite & Civ - Gruppo Italiano Vini (581.3 million euros), Caviro Group (362 million euros), Cavit (209.7 million euros), Gruppo Mezzacorona (193.6 million euros), La Marca Vini e Spumanti (152.9 million euros), Terre Cevico (127.3 million euros), Cantina di Soave (121 million euros), Collis Veneto Wine Group (105 million euros), Gruppo Vi. V.O. Cantine Group (101.1 million euros) and Ermes Group (87.3 million euros). In the top ten of the private wine world, however, there are Casa Vinicola Botter (230 million euros), Marchesi Antinori (214.5 million euros), Fratelli Martini (208.2 million euros), Italian Wine Brands (204.3 million euros), Enoitalia (200.8 million euros), Zonin 1821 (189.5 million euros), Gruppo Santa Margherita (172 million euros), Schenk Italian Wineries (118 million euros), Mondodelvino Group (117.5 million euros) and Marchesi Frescobaldi (110.7 million euros).