Young people and wine, between premiumization and art, according to Pasqua Wines. Which grows on the market

Understand the market to anticipate it and continue to grow: it is the path chosen by Pasqua Wines, one of the most important companies of wine in Veneto, which closed 2022 with a turnover of 65.4 million euros (+4% on 2021, and an Ebitda of 12.3%), thanks to an export share of over 89%, and to the driving force of high-quality wines, capable of better intercepting the premiumization in progress, also thanks to the study on the relationship of Millenials and Gen Z with wine in Italy, Uk, and USA, at the center of research (presented today in Milan, with the deputy director of the newspaper “Corriere della Sera”, Luciano Ferraro) signed by the international company Toluna, which confirms the profile of an increasingly aware and informed consumer, who chooses brands capable of embodying its value and offering a unique, personalized and shareable experience. After all, explains a note, “the research and strategy of premiumization, supported by investments in the technical area for 6 million euros in the last year and continuous investments in the value of the brands (which in the last 7 years have fluctuated between 7.5% and 9% of turnover) are closely interconnected with the desire to consolidate a distinctive positioning. In it, creativity and innovation are central values, which permeate the whole process from the product to the tone of voice of the narration around it”.
“Let’s carefully observe the new styles of consumption – commented the Ceo Riccardo Pasqua – and build a conversation around wine that evolves in style and form, together with the new generations. We don’t limit ourselves to recording market trends, but we are interested in analyzing and understanding them, to build an open and non-intermediated dialogue with those who choose our wines”. This is why Pasqua Wines commissioned the research company Toluna to carry out an ad hoc survey to investigate the consumption styles and attitudes of young in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The questionnaire was administrated to 2,400 participants, women and men born between 1980 and 2000, equally divided between Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who consumed wine at least once in the last month.
If Millennials and Gen Z perceive conviviality and emotional involvement (defined as pleasure associated with the tasting experience) in a similar way, the former find personal gratification in this ritual (Italy 33%, UK 34%, USA 27%), while the latter find a way to feel more carefree and inclined towards others (21% Italy, 28% UK, 26% USA). Red wine is by far the most popular of all the beverages studied, and there is agreement among both Millennials and Gen Z (42% and 43% in Italy, 33% and 39% in the UK, 42% in the US and 39%). The food and wine culture, in which the Italian interviewees have always been immersed, means that they are very aware of their purchasing choices, so much so that they prefer national labels, synonymous with excellence (72% Millennials, 68% Gen Z), and still be interested in the news (67% on one side, 64% on the other). In other countries, the trend is towards the choice of already known labels (67% Millennials and 59% Gen Z UK, 71% Millennials and 66% Gen Z USA), even if there is an openness towards exploration and curiosity to taste wines “from the world” (66% Millennials and 53% Gen Z from the United Kingdom, even 79% and 69% in the United States).

Furthermore, an increasingly attentive and aware lifestyle places the aspect of sustainability (both environmental and social) at the forefront of deciding which brand to trust. The values that win the most over the targets are recyclable packaging, low CO2 impact (carbon footprint), green production processes, but also attention to the well-being of employees and the community, openness to innovation, and transparency in dialogue with the consumer. Lunch or dinner away from home is one of the two generations’ favorite activities in their spare time. As a result, wine ranks first among the items that Millennials and Gen Z are most interested in and go to for information in the United States (49% and 42% of the sample, respectively). A significant part of the interviewees declares that they know the Valpolicella appellation (facilitated by the Italian sounding), this happens both for the Italian panel (62% from Millennials and 44% Gen Z), and for the US one (46% from Millennials and 41% Gen Z) and UK (26% from Millennials and 31% Gen Z). Overseas interviewees are also very interested in the world of art, and when it comes to unconventional approaches, they see the world of wine as being positively linked to the world of art (with an average of 4.23 for Millennials and 4.16 for Gen Z, on a scale of approval from 1 to 5), because both share values such as creativity (56% Millennials, 53%, 53% Gen Z), attention to quality (45% and 46%), and ability to innovate (38% and 27%).
“The evidence from the research of international company Toluna, particularly on American Millennials and Gen Z, confirms the direction of our strategy, where creativity and innovation are central from the vineyard to the cellar to communication”, affirms Alessandro Pasqua, president of Pasqua USA. “Both profiles demonstrate growing attention to the world of wine and its denominations and confirm to us how Italy is one of the reference countries of global wine culture, capable of attracting future consumers with its offer. Our company understands how to translate the unique characteristics of the Valpolicella region into innovative winemaking styles, around which we build a story that finds another interesting voice in art”. And, in this sense, the path that connects Pasqua wines to the world of art continues, and, as WineNews predicted, for the second consecutive year, Pasqua Vini has entrusted fuse* with the task of bringing to Vinitaly an imaginative and engaging art project that features the moon as the protagonist. That is one of the most evocative symbols of the human imagination and most representative of the desire to transcend the boundaries of the known, a metaphor for becoming, a lady of the time, a foretelling of the future. And so “Luna Somnium” was born, a site-specific installation, redesigned by fuse* for the space of the Mercatali Galleries in Verona (and presented for the first time on the occasion of the Videocittà festival at the Gazometro in Rome on 20 July 2022 in anniversary of the day when, in 1969, the man took the first step on the moon). The title of the work is inspired by what is considered to be the first science fiction work ever written by a man: Giovanni Kepler’s Somnium. A German astronomer and mathematician imagine his protagonist traveling to our satellite in a dream three hundred years before Georges Méliès’ film A Trip to the Moon. Here, he can see the sky and the Earth from a different angle, challenging beliefs, and certainties and inspiring a new way of perceiving and understanding reality. Just like in Kepler’s story, the exploration of reality from different points of view is at the heart of the installation, which prompts visitors to reflect on how even a slight change can influence their perception of the world. Through the emotional power of art, “Luna Somnium” wishes to suggest a new vision of reality, urging the observer not to be anchored to prejudices, to what he already knows, but to be open to changing his point of view and modifying his perception, evaluation, and judgment of reality. Thus, “Luna Somnium” becomes an invitation to free experimentation, a dream realized through human creativity capable of combining vision and technology. A perfect match with Pasqua Vini’s vision: a laboratory of continuous research, open to dialogue and comparison, and unafraid of the unknown and new.