THE WIND OF CHANGE IS BLOWING AT THE WINE COOPERATIVES IN TRENTO: NO MORE INSIDE COMPETITION WHILE VIS, CAVIT AND MEZZACORONA, PLUS THE SMALL PRODUCERS ARE WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS A SHARED GOAL, DIFFERENT STRATEGIES AND THE “PEDRON PLAN”

The wind of change is blowing at the wine cooperatives in the Trentino region, which are well known for their efficiency in the wine business, but have also suffered the blows the crisis has dealt everyone. The three largest cooperatives, Cavit, Mezzacorona and La-Vis, together with their smaller “sisters”, have bank debts, according to the local newspaper “L’ Adige”, for 263 million euros. It’s a complicated situation, made more difficult by the widespread price-cutting policy. Many, but not all have adopted this policy.
It is detrimental to the Trentino situation as their main “mission” is to pay members of the cooperative and at the same time they cannot cut prices to stay profitable because their vineyards are located mostly in mountainous areas, meaning higher costs all the way around. Everyone therefore seems to agree, although with different proposed strategies, on the goal: it is necessary to restructure the cooperative system of Trentino wines. No to in home competition, which though it is legal, does nobody any good, and yes, to finding a new formula that allows Trentino cooperatives to be competitive on the market and in the distribution chain.

The idea of a single center bringing together the three major cooperatives is a complicated one, but not impossible. There are various proposals that, according to indiscretions, should be evaluated by the leaders of cooperatives and the Federation of Cooperatives, Federcoop (that wishes to have only a minor role in coordination and support and not influence business decisions) by the end of July to get a better picture of the guidelines to follow. One of the main proposals comes from Emilio Pedron, former CEO of Italian Wines Group called upon by the Federation of Cooperatives to study a “cure”.
The first draft of the “Pedron Plan” presented in March, provided for the sale of the Cesarini Sforza brand by La-Vis (which would be incorporated by Cavit, which in turn should create a corporation to continue the bottling and marketing of wines, linked to member wineries shareholder agreements and mandatory regulations), which should also streamline the situation in Tuscany (Villa Poggio Morino and Cafaggio) and return to focus only on the Trentino area. Then, the creation of a new central body, a sort of new “Institute of Trentino Wine” or umbrella consortium Cavit - Mezzacorona, along with private producers, which should have a coordinating role and the power to manage the relationship with governmental institutions as well as guiding promotional and advertising investments. There should also be an intervention from the public sector, or the Autonomous Province of Trento, for 20 million euros. At the moment, it should be clearly stated that these are proposals and the bases for discussions: there is wide consensus that the structure of the Trentino wine cooperatives needs to be renovated, but how to do it has yet to be decided.