Wine investments: Prosit has acquired the US importer and distributor Votto Vines

Investment funds that focus on wine are now also focusing on distribution. Prosit, founded by Sergio Dagnino and subsidiary of the Made in Italy Fund (the Private Equity fund, promoted and managed by Quadrivio & Pambianco that invests in quality Made in Italy products active in the fashion, design, beauty and food & wine sectors), has done precisely that. It has three Italian wineries in its portfolio, such as Torrevento from Puglia, Nestore Bosco from Abruzzi and Collalbrigo from Veneto, and has now acquired the US importer and distributor Votto Vines. The Italian-American family, Votto, founded the distribution company in Connecticut in 2009, and it has closed the year 2020 with a turnover of more than 60 million US dollars. Today, it represents one of the largest importers of table wines from wineries in countries such as Italy (43.3%), Spain (29%), France (18.5%), Portugal (6.3%), Australia (2.3%) and Chile (0.4%).
It is a significant as well as strategic investment in the United States, which are the number one foreign market for Italian wine. The US has always been a real export engine, especially in value (in 2020, 1.4 billion euros out of 6.2 billion euros total for all exports, data from the Italian statistics institute, ISTAT, analyzed by WineNews). “The family at the helm of the Group, today”, explained an official note, “will invest in Prosit, and will continue to fill the main operative roles, assisted by management and the investment team of the Fund, and thereby ensuring management continuity. The quality of the offer proposed, together with the multi-territorial approach have determined a constant growth of activities on the US market, over the years”. Prosit is therefore continuing along its path, as its declared objective is to create, within 3 to 4 years, a wine pole with the “Italian Premium and Super Premium wineries, investing in the excellent Italian wines and promoting exports worldwide”.
“The acquisition of shares of Votto Vines represents an important step towards the creation of a reference pole for Prosit and for the entire wine sector”, continued the note, “and confirms the willingness of the Made in Italy Fund to acquire a prominent role in the wine world. The two companies are strategically complementary, which will allow them to work well together and strengthen their competitive positioning. The goal, that the Votto family shares as well, is based on the desire to foster Prosit's relations with the US, by promoting exports of Italian wines and allowing the wineries in the portfolio to penetrate the market more rapidly. Votto Vines, thanks to a strategic partner that has many years of experience in the sector, will on the other hand be able to strengthen and implement its distribution activity, expand its product offer, access and enter into agreements with the topmost prestigious Italian wineries”.
“We have chosen Votto Vines, even though it is a small company, because it is present on several sales channels”, commented Sergio Dagnino, Founder and CEO of Prosit, “and it boasts excellent relationships with numerous prestigious customers. The high level of service that distinguishes the company is the indispensable complement to our premium brands. We have been negotiating only via video call for 6 months, which was very complicated, but it allowed us to share the vision on exactly what Italian wine needs in the US”.