Italian red wines over $50 in the US do not dampen sales
Fine wines made in Italy recorded a sales growth of 3% against a general performance of luxury products of -7%.
3' min read
3' min read
Not feeling the market difficulties experienced by generic red wines are those Premium Italian wines (and Tuscan wines in particular) priced above $50. The international wine market often throws up a few surprises, and so from Vinitaly.USA, an event staged these days in Chicago, comes the news that Italian red wines in the luxury segment, i.e. those priced over $50, between January and August this year recorded a 3% increase in value sales against a general performance of luxury products of -7%. In line with the average market downturn were American premium wines, while French wines fared worse, dropping by as much as 16%. This is what emerged in Chicago during Vinitaly USA from the market analysis carried out by the UIV-Vinitaly Observatory on August SipSource data.
According to the Observatory's data, super-premium Italian reds hold a 2% share by volume of total sales of Italian reds in the US, but this becomes 14% by value. This market share then rises to 23% if super-premium reds (between $24 and $50) are included, compared to only 6% of volume sales.
"Italy," commented the president of the Italian Wine Union (UIV), Lamberto Frescobaldi, in Chicago, "can count on the one hand on the strength of territorial brands that are now recognised as iconic by American wine lovers, and on the other on the experience of the American tourist in Italy, which is increasingly a factor of affection once back home.
It is no coincidence that the (almost absolute) stars of the luxury niche are Tuscan labels, responsible for 45.5% of the US market for high-end Italian-made reds, which grew by 13% between January and August this year.
The true superstar of this segment is Brunello di Montalcino, the leading denomination with a market share of 32% of luxury reds. "Brunello di Montalcino is by now an established territorial brand on a global scale - commented the President of the Consorzio, Fabrizio Bindocci - precisely because of its average quality perceived as very high. A result that certainly rewards the constant and not improvised commitment of the Consorzio and the wineries and that also derives from the recognitions of international critics that, in recent years, have placed Brunello on the podium of the best wines in the world until reaching the highest recognition in 2023".
