Benvenuto Brunello: wine tourism in Montalcino generates 150 million induced revenue

While waiting for the scenario on tariffs and international markets to be clarified, Montalcino is concentrating on incoming, direct sales and wine tourism. Already 2024 in fact had set record numbers with almost 235 thousand visitors in one year and 2025 is now confirming the positive trend. A flow that also in Montalcino has important repercussions on the local economy. It is in fact calculated that every time a bottle of Brunello is uncorked it generates a positive impact on the territory of about 117 euro, four times the value (at origin) of a bottle of wine.

These are some of the numbers that will be released during the 34th edition of Benvenuto Brunello, the annual event at which the new vintage is presented to the press after the ageing period (this year from 20 to 24 November with the 2021 label making its debut).

"Wine tourism in our territory - commented thepresident of the Consorzio del vino Brunello di Montalcino, Giacomo Bartolommei - is proving to be a multiplier of wealth that positively influences not only the wine-producing enterprises, grappling with a difficult agenda between tariffs in the USA and a drop in consumption, but also the entire economy of the Montalcino territory, for a direct and indirect benefit, according to the estimates of the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, of over 150 million euros". In these years therefore, thanks to the international renown of its wine - worth a turnover between 250 and 300 million euros (Brunello plus Rosso, "ex cellar") - in Montalcino a significant wine tourism industry has been consolidated with an offer that, according to the analysis of the Statistics Office of the Region of Tuscany/Istat, there are 12 hotels (three of which are 5-star), to which are added 180 extra-hotel structures - starting with agritourisms - as well as dozens of restaurants (two of which are starred), wine shops and wine bars.

According to the Consortium's calculations, the number of presences in accommodation facilities in 2024 reached a record 233,000, 6.3% more than the previous year and almost 30% more than pre-Covid (2019). And the 2025 figures are consolidating this trend: with 130 thousand presences between May and August alone and a strong growth in demand from France, Eastern Europe, China and the United Kingdom. Overall, foreigners account for 71%, with presences driven by the Americans, but strong growth also in South Korea and China.

A new business lever that, however, does not shift the values in the field. "We are happy about the good performance of wine tourism," Bartolommei continues, "but obviously our main task is to continue to produce and sell wine of excellent quality. We have experienced a complex year mainly because of the uncertainty about tariffs and their extent. Once the framework was defined, producers and distributors organised themselves to absorb this 15% extra cost. It was not easy but the blow was largely cushioned. Last October we then recorded a positive rebound in bottling with over 1.92 million bands delivered, a sign that producers are confident of selling the product if they have not already sold it. As a result, bottling has been almost reduced to zero compared to last year, as the drop from -13.7% in August to -0.9% in October. And now, in order to revive the American market, which we cannot give up, we are focusing on the new vintage, the 2021 to debut, on which there is great expectation".