Italian wine sales overtake France’s in the United States. According to latest Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor survey on customs data, in the first two months of 2018 the value of Italian wine grew by 3.8%, compared to French wine’s +3.4%. In this race, Made in Italy products’ sales are in the first place with 243 million euro against 227 million euro. Figures are still very partial – commented the general manager of Veronafiere, Giovanni Mantovani – but the positive reaction of our operators to last year’s overtaking is a good sign for Vinitaly 2018 (from 15 to 18 April in Verona), where the focus debate in the inaugural event will be dedicated to the United States. ‘Il futuro dei mercati, i mercati del futuro: Italy first negli Stati Uniti?’ (The future of markets, the markets of the future: ‘Italy first’ in the United States?) is in fact the title of the inaugural debate. It will be attended by Giovanni Mantovani, in addition to the vice president of the Agriculture Commission of the European Parliament Paolo De Castro, the Italian Trade Agency of New York director and ITA US network coordinator Maurizio Forte, and the head of Nomisma Wine Monitor Denis Pantini. A specific analysis of the US wine market will also be presented. It is a survey by Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor on consumption patterns, key purchasing factors, preferences, Italian perception, and future consumer trends in five US states (New York, California, Illinois, Minnesota, and Winsconsin).
Sparkling wines beat champagne
The overtaking was mainly due to Italian sparkling wines (+18.3%) compared to a simultaneous collapse of champagne sales (-23.1%); on bottled still-wines the Italian trend remained stable (+0.8%) while France recorded +16.6% thanks to its Rosé de Provence. The Italian performance is even more significant if we consider the unfavorable context of US demand in the first two months of 2018, when wine imports decreased by 2.3%. According to surveys, behind the two leaders New Zealand is running fast (+33.9%) although its sales value is still almost four times lower than that of Italy. Conversely, Australia (-23.3%) and Spain (-5.4%) did badly.