It is a clear scenario, the one emerged during the conference “The semiotic square of wine lovers: wine consumption behaviors in Italy” held today in Verona during the Vinitaly, organized by the winery Bosco Viticultori of the group VI.V.O*. Cantine sac of the Treviso Region. The analysis, conducted by the market research institute Squadrati of Milan, points out how the Italians – drinking wine – can recognize themselves in 4 macro behaviors. Radical: those expecting the wine to be produced with the maximum respect of the grape and the Vineyard. Wine snob: those expecting the wine to be of guaranteed quality and sophisticated taste. Down-to-earth: those finding simplicity and everyday life in wine. Socialite: those considering wine as the occasion for a social gratification. Proper and similarly articulated responses must correspond to the different behaviors, values and motivations. “The scenario represented by the semiotic square of wine lovers is the product of a qualitative segmentation, relating the different consumption attitudes to four areas of value, each describing the kind of consumer” – explains Diletta Sereni, researcher of Squadrati – “It is a way to be guided in the wine market and, especially, to understand the position of each winery in respect to the different targets. This gives an indication to reflect on the best strategies to be used to intercept the different kinds of consumers: which tone of voice should be used to talk to them, which objectives should be pursued, which channels should be used… in other words how to create a credible narration”. More than the single producers, it is the Italian wine business as a whole that must try to regain an appeal on the Italian consumers. “During the last three years, the world of Italian wine became aware that the National market had been excessively forgotten. The investments of financial and human resources of most wineries, though, are too unbalanced toward the foreign markets, forgetting that Italy still represents 50% of the consumptions” underlines Lorenzo Biscontin, managing director of Bosco Viticultori, creator of the initiative.
Oscar Farinetti, founder of Eataly, speaking at the conference as an expert of the wine supply chain and the consumption behaviors in the whole world, including Italy, stated that “I am impressed by this sort of migration among the different kind of consumers within the semiotic square. I see it as a very powerful marketing tool for Italian wineries to understand how to position themselves in the different wine markets and segments”.
*Bosco Viticultori is a winery of the Group Vi.V.O. Cantine s.a.c., with 2.000 members cultivating 4.000 ha of vineyard and delivering over 500.000 quintals of grapes to the 8 wine-making centers located in the provinces of Venice and Treviso.