The role of Italian wine shops during the pandemic and now returning to normality

During the very challenging months of the lockdown, wine bars were the last hold out and the resistance for the wine world in real life, when we were all confined to our homes. The work of winemakers changed radically in that period, speeding up digitization, which in some cases is still behind, together with increasing social communication, to reduce distances with customers. The use of e-commerce has now become, for many, the norm. It is true that many of the changes that took place are now the norm, while others, especially commercial, turned out to be a flash in the pan. WineNews talked to Giuliano Rossi ("La Fiaschetta", in Rome), Barbara Orlando ("Enoteca Bischoff", in Trieste) and Cosimo Chisena ("Enoteca Chisena", in Brindisi), who said that obviously the takeaway option kept wine bars open between February and April 2020, and even though there were difficulties, sales have not suffered any downfalls, on the contrary. When restaurants were closed down, the average sale receipt increased in wine shops, as well as the curiosity for new wines and new territories. Now, returning to normality, the large and small art cities have had to deal with the decline in International tourism. They can still count on the hard core of regular customers who, for the most part, have resumed trusting the productions of surrounding territories. However, the taste and pleasure for the classics is still foremost, from the bubbles of Franciacorta and Champagne to the great red wines, such as Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo, Barbaresco and Amarone.
Andrea Terraneo, president of Vinarius, the association of Italian wine bars, taking stock of Italian wine bars in this period and summing up a complex and difficult year and a half, said, “in Italian wine shops the trend is a definite recovery compared to the same period in 2020 and also in 2019, therefore confirming the positive data coming from the export markets. In traditional wine shops, based on take-away, turnover increased +15 to 20% compared to last year. Further, notwithstanding the pandemic, we held up well, confirming the results of 2019 and in some cases even slightly improving them. At the same time, the restaurant closures highly affected the wine bars that poured bulk wine, while instead this summer brought about a phenomenal re-launch of consumption and consequently pouring wine in wine shops”, the President of Vinarius told WineNews.
“From a statistical and market analysis point of view, the most famous and noble territories and wines have held up well, in this last year. Therefore, Montalcino’s Brunello, Langhe’s Barolo and Barbaresco, Valpolicella’s Amarone, Franciacorta, Trentodoc and Prosecco, in other words, the areas where consumers already had a certain feeling. From this point of view, the medium-high ranges, starting at 15 euros and up, are the ones that have given the best results in wine shops. On the other hand, during the period of the pandemic, the lifeline was sales of wines for daily consumption, therefore, in the 5-10 euro price range”, continued Andrea Terraneo.
“Basically, we returned to the pre-Covid wine shop, i.e., to the selection of quality wines. Further, the way people worked in wine shops has changed quite a lot over the past year. During lockdown, the use of social media boomed, to be able to talk directly with customers and consumers, and we encouraged our associates to get started with an e-commerce site, or at least a showcase to offer their products to consumers. This is and will be the focus of our business; that is, pure e-commerce and the showcase site, which facilitates interaction with wine lovers, whether it is a customer who comes directly to the wine shop or a consumer from abroad who does not know the wine shop but has decided to buy a product that we have put up for sale online”, concluded the president of Vinarius, Andrea Terraneo.