The wine champions: a 6.2 billion euro business, over 100 million euros in turnover for 19

All together these wine companies represent 6.2 billion euros in turnover, 148.000 hectares of vineyards, (owned or rented), 2 billion bottles produced and 11.570 employees. This is the calling card of the 104 leading Italian wineries in 2017, in the ranking created by the journalist Anna Di Martino for "Corriere Economia", taking into consideration budget results of the previous financial year. One hundred and four companies account for 47.6% of the turnover in the sector. The Cooperativa Cantine Riunite & CIV, which owns Gruppo Italiano Vini, leads the ranking, as it is the largest company in the sector, at 594.2 million euros. More than 300 million euros distance the first company from the second, the Romagna Consortium Caviro, at 220.8 million euros in turnover. In third place, we find the first private company, Marchesi Antinori, the prestigious Made in Italy brand known the world over. Following the Tuscan family, there are two other private brands, which are Zonin1821 and Fratelli Martini, a market-oriented Piedmont company. In sixth and seventh places, two flagships of the Trentino Cooperative, Mezzacorona and Cavit, followed by Casa Vinicola Botter, Enoitalia and Gruppo Santa Margherita.
Profitability is essential to understanding the value and the state of health of a wine company, and there are at least three other factors that must be included: hectares of vineyards, bottles produced and export share. Marchesi Antinori is on the very top step of the ranking and is, by far, number one, counting 2.880 hectares in production, 200 hectares more than last year, following their recent acquisitions in Tuscany. After number one, only three companies boast properties extending more than 1.000 hectares. They are Zonin1821 (1.990 hectares), Marchesi Frescobaldi (1.350 hectares, 100 more than in 2016) and Castello Banfi, the largest company in Montalcino owned by the Italo-American Mariani-May family. Tenute Genagricola, the viniculture pole of Assicurazioni Generali is in fifth place, at 900 hectares. Then Terra Moretti, at 870 hectares and Cusumano, at 525 hectares. Bertani Domains of the Angelini family (pharmaceuticals) is in the top ten viniculture properties at number eight, while the Santa Margherita Group following its most recent acquisitions has multiplied its extension of vineyards and earned ninth place with 447 hectares, and Feudi di San Gregorio of the Capaldo family closes the top ten at 427 hectares. As for the production plan, the Enoitalia company of the Pizzolo family is at the top of the ranking for the number of bottles produced. Botter Carlo winery takes second position at 86 million, while Fratelli Martini is in third place at 84 million bottles produced. As far as foreign markets are concerned, the most export-oriented wineries boasting more than 90% of turnover are the Piedmont Cooperative Araldica Castelvero (98.4%), Botter (96%), Cantine Sgarzi (96%), Farnese Group (93.48 %), Ruffino (93.3%), Castellani (91%) and Cantine Volpi (90%).