When the future of wine passes through the rediscovery of the great classics: Orvieto’s case history

There are cases in which it is not necessary to evoke futuristic scenarios, because the future passes through the rediscovery of the great classics that, like all evergreens, are unassailable by passing trends and fashions: this is the case of Orvieto, a wine that has its roots in history starting with the Etruscans, and that, for centuries, has been the focus of interest of great names in art and literature, an undisputed protagonist on the tables of popes, kings and emperors. From the poet and man of letters Gabriele D’Annunzio, who called it “Italy’s sun in a bottle”, to Popes Paul III Farnese and Gregory XVI, to immense Renaissance painters such as Pinturicchio and Signorelli, Orvieto is one of the symbols of a city known for centuries for its Duomo, a masterpiece of Romanesque-Gothic art and an international tourist destination. To a denomination that is experiencing a moment of important rediscovery was dedicated “Orvieto diVino 2023” (June 9-11), edition no. 5, with tastings and masterclasses - led by Riccardo Cotarella, chairman of the “Orvieto diVino” Scientific Committee and world and Italian president of oenologists - that highlighted the potential of old vintages, and the conference “Orvieto 2023 - New Marketing and Communication Strategies”, in which experts and researchers discussed the case history of a territory that, with 2,000 hectares and more than 11 million bottles produced, represents one of Italy’s white wine excellences. In attendance was Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida, who said that “there is ample room for growth for every single wine that represents the excellence of our enology. This is also why we must present ourselves united in front of Europe to defend our production system from unjustified attacks, such as health warnings on labels”.
Organized by the Consorzio di Tutela dei Vini di Orvieto, the conference put at the center of the debate the important path of relaunching that Orvieto Doc is experiencing, which, after a historical phase in which it lost market appeal, partly due to confused and unrecognizable identity and too low price policies, is experiencing a new, great leap in quality. A revival that is part - as Denis Pantini (researcher in charge of Nomisma wine & food) explained - of a broader trend that sees white wines going through a decidedly positive phase. “Italy is the first country in the world for exports of white wines by volume”, Pantini says, “with 631.4 million bottles, compared to 420.5 million for France, which, however, surpasses us in value (1,906.6 million euros compared to Italy's 1,577.9). Our first market for white wines is the United States, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and Japan. Among the countries that have seen the greatest increase in white wine consumption (out of total still wines) over the past decade are the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Russia. In Italy, consumption of whites has also increased slightly (from 38% in 2017 to 39% in 2022, in the large-scale retail trade), albeit drunk more occasionally than reds. But, on the side of whites, and in this case of Orvieto, there are some elements that, in the coming years, will guide consumers’ choices, and which producers will necessarily have to take into account: first and foremost, sustainable certification, but also the organic label, provenance from indigenous grape varieties and small producers, production in a specific territory and low alcohol content. These are all indications that Orvieto can certainly seize for its future”, concluded Denis Pantini.
Vincenzo Russo, professor of Consumer Psychology and Neuromarketing at Iulm University, in his talk “The Evocative Power of Orvieto’s Territory and History on the Brain”, spoke about the “nostalgia effect”, which, according to the most advanced research, is one of the elements that most drive and influence purchases. “Consumers, increasingly challenged and fearful, are looking for foundational values: authenticity, naturalness, simplicity and sobriety. Pandemics and crises have increased expectations of products and brands whose history and origin we know”, Russo stressed, “which is why brands and companies that can balance the old and the new will have the opportunity to tap into nostalgia while offering the excitement of new products, flavors and formats. This is why it is important for companies to effectively communicate their values: nostalgia activates a specific area of our brain, the hippocampus: if the narrative is effective and empathetic, it reaches consumers much more effectively”.
Professor Attilio Scienza, an academic and one of the world’s leading experts on viticulture, traced an excursus on wine production in the Orvieto area from its origin - traceable to the Paleoumbrian people, who lived in the Bronze Age, even predating the Etruscans and considered the oldest population in Italy - to the present day. It will be the young people of Generation Z, Science explained, who will be driving the market in the near future, and for them the values of environmental sustainability, social equity and health are paramount. But the Orvieto area also has the potential to become a destination for wine tourism of excellence: Donatella Cinelli Colombini, producer and founder in 1993 of the Movimento Turismo del Vino, spoke about this. The wine-culture pairing is an important tourist attraction for 64% of Italian tourists, even more so for women, who are responsible for booking 66% of visits to wineries. The development of wine tourism, Cinelli Colombini explained, has as its first consequence that of increasing wineries' incomes, through the direct sale of wine (just think that 27% of wineries’ turnover is linked to tourism - data from Roberta Garibaldi for Enit 2022), but also that of creating a portfolio of private customers, because visitors can be “loyal” through subsequent online contacts. Even from the point of view of pairing in the kitchen, Orvieto proves to be versatile, as pointed out by Heinz Beck, three-Michelin-starred chef of the La Pergola restaurant at the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria in Rome: “a wine with great potential, aromatic, fresh, with pleasant acidity, particularly suitable for summer. It pairs perfectly with light dishes, which are increasingly in demand by customers, and for this reason, in my opinion, it has ample room to express itself in large-scale catering. I see it perfectly with fish, but its top pairing is definitely with carbonara”.
Of note were the two masterclasses on the Orvieto appellation: the first, “Viaggio nel tempo - L'Orvieto Doc in tredici annate”, led by wine critic Kerin O’Keefe, together with Riccardo Cotarella, highlighted Orvieto’s extraordinary aging capacity (from 2010 to 2022); the second, dedicated to “I vini dolci della Doc Orvieto”, was led by Riccardo Cotarella, with Christian Eder, a signature of “Vinum” magazine. The event concluded with a dinner in which the labels of Orvieto Doc producers were paired with recipes inspired by the products of the area, but also with opera, which together with wine is one of the glories of Italy, a symbol of an Italy that has always been loved, known and exported all over the world. The star of the evening was tenor Gianluca Sciarpelletti, among the most famous Italian voices in the world and of value in contemporary bel canto, the protagonist of international tours, who, together with soprano Olga Nesterova, performed famous classical arias united by the theme of wine, from “Viva il vino spumeggiante” (from Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana”) to “Brindisi” (from Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata”). Sciarpelletti, who is of Sabine origin, said he is a “great lover of good food and good drink: among the many great Italian wines, he claims, Orvieto is a classic to be rediscovered. Wine accompanies the excellence we produce and put on the table, and for me it is definitely one of life’s great pleasures, which I could never give up”, tenor Gianluca Sciarpelletti told WineNews.