The future of Wine Consortiums: protection, promotion, sharing common rules and values

Wine consortiums are the “guardians” of the territories (historically created, generally, in the wake, the vision and investments of individual pioneer companies), and fundamental vehicles in social and economic terms. Their role is crucial to promoting the territory (working together with the individual companies and the most famous brands, ed.), and is absolutely a definite asset to develop a denomination. They have the fundamental role of valorizing and protecting wines in Italy and abroad, because counterfeiting is a real danger, threatening a heritage which generates work and wealth. Writing the common rules of production in the specifications, promoting and protecting the “collective brand” of the denomination, was, is and will be the role of the Consortiums for the Protection of Wine, the “Spokesmen” of wine companies and territories, the center of directional strategies that also welcome a rapidly growing trend, like wine tourism. Their role is becoming more and more challenging (and still needs to be written, especially in light of the recent European regulation reform on PDO and PGI), in an era requiring decisions to be made against decline in consumption, climate change, sustainability, unstable and changing political scenarios. At the same time, though, it enjoys the deserved consideration from the institutions, as demonstrated by the hypothesis of giving more power, precisely to the Consortiums, to promote the territory. What direction should we take in the coming years to face and overcome so many challenges? Several leaders of the most important Consortiums in Italy discussed the topic during the meeting held at Teatro degli Astrusi in Montalcino, to take stock of the situation talking on the theme, “What is the future for wine consortiums”, on stage at “Benvenuto Brunello”, the preview dedicated to one of Italy’s great red wines that puts the 2020 vintage to the test in the glass. Luciano Ferraro, deputy director of the Italian daily, “Corriere della Sera”, was on stage to introduce Fabrizio Bindocci, president of the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Consortium, Albiera Antinori, president of the Consortium for the Protection of Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia Wines, Christian Marchesini, president of the Valpolicella Consortium, Giovanni Manetti, president of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium, Graziano Nicosia, vice president of the Etna Consortium, and Sergio Germano, president of the Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani Protection Consortium.
Starting from the weight of the role of Consortiums, Albiera Antinori, at the helm of Bolgheri DOC, explained, “the main function of the Consortium of a denomination is protection, therefore, protecting the name and the products around the world. Another function is to give a strategic direction to the area by engaging members, to create cohesion and trust, and address issues that can change in a fast-moving world. For example, sustainability, and the density of plants in one’s denomination following climate impacts, but there are several different issues. I believe, however, that Consortiums cannot replace the companies, which must be the promoters, and the driving forces within a general framework. There are, in fact, groups in Consortiums that are very different, so it is difficult to do something that works for everyone”. Christian Marchesini, president of the Consorzio dei Vini della Valpolicella, said, “consortiums are contemporary, and the public sector should be supporting our activity more and more. We represent successful territories, and we also have the responsibility to maintain them. There are three fundamental functions: protection, supervision and promotion. We have a long history in protection, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, where we must deal with considerable costs. As a matter of fact, we spend over 200.000 euros each year to defend ourselves. However, we bring home around 700.000 euros in reimbursements, to cover legal costs, above all for the unfair use of our brands”. Sergio Germano, at the helm of the Consorzio del Barolo e del Barbaresco, added, “the task of the Consortium is to promote the denomination and the territory, not the individual brands, obviously. We must move in the world as a territory. Protection is a given and is also important to manage the vineyards, but the promotion of a territory, and its widespread distribution, is important to make consumers aware”. Graziano Nicosia, leading the Consorzio dei vini dell’Etna, chaired by Francesco Cambria, said, “the Consortium continues to maintain its role of protection, which according to me, should also be strengthened. But we cannot ignore promotion. Etna is a phenomenon that perhaps began first abroad, as a market reference, first and foremost in the United States and then in Italy. Strengthening promotion is important abroad, but also on the domestic market. If there is a criticism, I find it in the existing calls for tenders aimed at promotion, where Consortiums are often parameterized to companies, and therefore have much more difficulty obtaining scores in the rankings”. Giovanni Manetti, president of the Consorzio del Gallo Nero, said that Chianti Classico “is celebrating its first 100 years. It is the first Consortium founded in Italy, not only for wine, but for all agri-food. We went back to read our history, from the beginning. In 1924, there was a group of 33 winemakers who decided to put aside all their individual interests to join forces and create a common home. In 1924, the objectives were protection and promotion. 100 years have gone by, and today there are 500 members in the Chianti Classico Consortium. We produce 37 million bottles distributed in 160 countries, and the objectives are still the same. Clearly, they need to be updated, promotion is now much more complicated, and consumer tastes are variable. I would like to emphasize the aspect of defense that will be more and more linked to the territory, which is our most important asset, because it is the production factor that gives uniqueness, personality, and ensures that the product is not replicable”. On the topic of sustainability, Manetti said, “we need to look far ahead, it takes vision, and foresight. We have put in place the “Sustainability Manifesto”, a program tailored to the reality of Chianti Classico, which includes fundamental requirements, such as running the company according to the criteria of organic, biodynamic or integrated agriculture, not using chemical fertilizers or herbicides and, from a social point of view, at least 50% of the staff is directly employed”. Fabrizio Bindocci, president of the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino, underlined the importance “of the producers’ work who are especially vigilant about managing the territory. The Consortium is leading the way; however, there are already several companies that have taken action. We must leave our grandchildren and future generations to come, a territory that is definitely better, or at least equal to the one we found. The strength of the Consorzio del Brunello di Montalcino was to start way back in 1967, and it has continually increased its members, to count 160 members today. We have understood that unity is strength, in terms of promotion. When we are all together, expenses are reduced and the final result is greater. On the subject of counterfeiting, when a brand becomes famous, people try to copy it. We invest significant amounts of money from our budget, but spending on brand protection means investing well, we cannot let our guard down. The Consortium provides guidelines, as we have seen in the expansion of hectares in the Rosso di Montalcino specification. We act as a megaphone, then the members say yes or no to a change”. One of the current issues is assigning greater powers to the Consortiums in terms of wine tourism. Albiera Antinori said, “on wine tourism, if we want to see it as a vehicle to promote the territory, and not just wine, it is just that the Consortiums have the opportunity to do so. Wine tourism will be more and more important, as the consumer is very interested in seeing where the wine is made, the art, the culture, the landscape, and all the various aspects. For instance, Antinori in the Bargino Winery. We have about 35/40.000 paying visitors and it has become a communication center for our wine, Chianti Classico and Tuscany”.
Then there are the duties “promised” by Trump, where, for Antinori, “being able to intervene on the application or not is “mission impossible”. We will have to sell wine in any case, perhaps more people will have to come here to create culture, charm and interest, waiting for the duties to pass”. What weapons does a Consortium have to face the difficulties of the market? “We must assist the companies”, Giovanni Manetti commented, “an excellent event that works, benefits everyone. Instead, if there is a weak demand, and the specter of duties, the only thing a Consortium can do is improve its work and strengthen all its activities. We need to get used to looking at the medium term, as the farmers of the past said we take stock every ten years”. Christian Marchesini is convinced that “the Consortium must promote more, while politics must provide the tools and resources to deal with the markets in a more concrete way. In wine tourism, it is essential to coordinate all the promoting organizations within the territory, such as Strada del Vino. We must carry out activities together to not lose resources. As far as duties are concerned, I have a positive attitude”, just like the president of the Brunello Consortium, Fabrizio Bindocci. The boom in wine tourism has also affected the Langhe area to a large extent, “In wine tourism”, Sergio Germano explained, “wine is the primary cause of this phenomenon. Our philosophy must be promoted, therefore, wine not only as a drink, and above all, not a fashion, because we represent classics that must maintain their historical identity, and their contemporaneity”. Sustainability, communication and wine tourism must have an even greater focus on the territory, which is the recipe for the future, also according to Graziano Nicosia, who said, “more communication is necessary, which also involves appropriate policies on strategies for sustainability, and training producers to also deal with foreign markets. I agree to strengthening wine tourism by partnering with those who are already dealing with this sector”.