Everything you need to know about the wine events that occurred in May 2023, in Italy and around the world.
The wine news of May, national and international.
END WINES
In recent years “fine wines” have become an increasingly popular investment.
A choice to diversify but also a response to the growing uncertainties of the market. According to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, in the last 10 years the fine wine market has recorded growth of +137%.
We read about it in Repubblica .
EMILIA ROMAGNA
You read about it Wine news . A bitter testimony from Faenza can be found on Wine surfing . The international press also writes about it, here Jancis Robinson .
And finally small signals of restart.
ACQUISITIONS
Antinori consolidates its presence in Napa Valley, purchasing complete control of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (of which it already owned 15%). The announcement is dated May 9th.
It can be read in Italian and English .
Marchesi Frescobaldi expands in Maremma with the acquisition of Poggio Verrano, a company created in 2000 by Francesco Bolla.
Tommasi Family Estates has acquired a 50% stake in Nicolis, a historic winery in Valpolicella with 25 hectares of owned vineyards and at least as many rented.
In recent weeks, Luca and Paolo Gargano's Velier distribution has completed the acquisition of the majority shares of the Rolling Wine e-commerce.
YEARS
Jancis Robinson reviews the 2022 Burgundy vintage. While on Bordeaux you can read here .
PRIZES
FIS (Italian Sommelier Foundation) awards awarded in Rome.
The ceremony, which this year followed the criteria of the Oscars, awarded 7 wine categories. The award also went to Angelo Gaja, as a "producer, genius of the word, cultural magnet and extraordinary man".
RUSSIA
In 2022, the sale of Italian wine in Russia grew by 16% in value (to 172 million euros) compared to the previous year, which was also marked by the aftermath of the pandemic. In fact, the sanctions only concern wines costing more than 300 euros.
LABELS
Ireland will be the first country in the world to introduce health warning labels on alcohol.
It's news on Monday 22 May, announced by the Irish health minister Stephen Donnelly: from 2026 the labels of wine, beer, whiskey and other alcohols on the market in the country will also carry health warnings on the labels (information on calorie content, grams of alcohol and disease risks).
The facts:
- beginning of the year (draft in January, proposed in February 2023): Ireland is proposing a new regulation on the labeling of wines and spirits at the WTO (The World Trade Organization), to give indications on the dangers of alcohol for health similar to those that appear in cigarettes. Initiative: “Public Health (Alcohol) (Labelling) Regulations 2023”.
- January 2023: the European Union paves the way for the Irish initiative, deemed legitimate.
- May 2023: comments on the Irish proposal submitted by various countries (Australia, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, USA).
Italy, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Portugal are preparing an informal document to ask the EU Commission to reopen negotiations with the Irish government. Federvini and Unione Italiana Vini are also ready to send their complaint.
The accusations against the proposal revolve around these points:
- accusation of incompatibility of the Irish rules with the current EU regulations on presentation and correct information to consumers
- measures accused of being disproportionate
- risk to the free movement of goods within the EU (contrary to the provisions of Articles 34 and 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)
- equal treatment between wine and spirits
What happens now: ON 21 June 2023 the observations presented will be explored in depth by the WTO itself at the "Technical Barriers to Trade" table and the procedure for infringement of the rules of the common market by Ireland will be opened at the request of the 9 member countries mentioned above .
Ireland's official statements . The story recently on Politico .
And in Italian on Wine News .
EVENTS
On 2 June 2023 the appointment with Emilia Sur returns there : this year for the first time in Piacenza. The eighth edition of the festival of Emilian wines refermented in the bottle.
EXPERIMENTS IN THE VINEYARD
As winemakers look for new ways to ward off the impacts of climate change, some age-old methods have emerged.
Michael Völker, in fact, by leaving the deeper layers of the soil intact, has seen fungi proliferate that can increase the healthiness of the vine, if the vineyard is cultivated in a sustainable context.
You can read the piece here .
RESEARCH
Will unpleasant wine aromas be neutralized by gold nanoparticles?
Volatile sulfur compounds are associated with reductive aromas in wine and contribute to approximately 30% of all defects found in the drink of Bacchus. These compounds have a significant impact on the aroma and perceived quality of wine. Researchers at Flinders University and the Australian Wine Research Institute have devised a process that involves the use of gold nanoparticles (used because it binds to certain sulfur molecules).
In laboratory tests, the nanoparticles neutralized up to 45% of free hydrogen sulfide in wines, along with other unwanted aromas.
The complete search.
WINE LIBRARIES
Domaine Clarence Dillon acquires the Sean Thackrey Library, one of the largest private collections of wine texts in the world, built over many decades by the American winemaking legend, Sean Thackrey, a Californian producer who died aged 79 in May 2022. Over 700 books, including ancient manuscripts and books dating back to the sixteenth century, the collection was offered for sale last year at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair by Ben Kinmont.
In May 2023 it was announced that the collection entered the hands of Prince Robert of Luxembourg, CEO of Domaine Clarence Dillon.
PRIZES
The Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2023 was awarded . The French journalist and photographer Thierry Gaudillère won for the shot taken in a fermentation tank in a vineyard in Burgundy. The winning image shows a woman resting after emptying the tub.
CHAMPAGNE SODA
French border police destroyed nearly 35,000 bottles of a carbonated drink calling itself Champagne (Couronne Fruit Champagne).
The bottles came from Haiti and contained a "bright orange liquid."
ANALYSES
On 30 May 2023, the analysis of the world wine market by the Mediobanca Research Area was published, with details on the performances of 255 Italian companies with a turnover exceeding 20 million euros (period 2017-2022).
SUMMARY ON THE ITALIAN SITUATION
- The turnover of the main Italian wineries is growing by 10% (bubbles are leading the way).
- Exports grew by 9.5% (37% to the EU, 34% to North America, 26% to Latin America)
- Wine tourism has grown (+67% 2022 vs 2021)
- Organic sales in 2022 are also increasing (+9.6% on 2021)
- The 2022 inflation dynamics have slowed down sales in large-scale retail trade
- E-commerce of the main wine companies decreased by 3.7% compared to 2021
- Sales growth of 3.3% is expected for 2023
- Regional specificities:
- in 2021 the best ROI is Piedmont (8.9%);
- Tuscan companies receive the highest 2021 Ebit margin (15.7%) and greater financial solidity;
- Lombardy does well for 2021 Ebit margin (8.5%)
- in 2022 sparkling wines will push the growth of Veneto companies (+13.4%)
- performances above the national average for Puglia (+21.1% 2022 vs 2021) and Sicily (+14.9%).
TWO DATA ON ITALIAN BOARDS:
- Millennials and Gen Z together make up 14.2% of total employees;
- Women make up 12.8% of the boards (23.8% in non-cooperative companies) and 8.8% of the presidents (15.7% in non-cooperatives).
The investigation , the analysis of Il Sole 24 Ore , and Business People .
PETRUUS
Jérôme and Stéphane Coureau, who manage CGM Vins and Direct Chais, registered the trademark "Coureau & Coureau Petrus Lambertini Major Burdegalensis 1208" in December 2010. Since then, Château Petrus has been legally fighting against what it sees as the "abusive and illegal" use of their brand.
And he won the case. In the ruling of May 16, 2023, the court spoke of deception, defamation and "parasitic actions" against the Petrus company of Pomerol, and sentenced the defendants to pay 500,000 euros for moral damage and 680,000 euros for the profit made. You can read about it here .
