Verona - 14 April 2024 Taking wine out of the equation in Italy would be equivalent, in terms of GDP, to cancelling almost all Italian sport, including football. This claim was made by Veronafiere which, together with the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, presented the results of the project today on the eve of the 1st National Made in Italy Day at the start of the wine event: If you take away wine from Italy A plunge into a half empty glass."
The project, conceived in the light of frequent attacks targeting the "national drink", includes an economic impact analysis commissioned from Prometeia and a focus by the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory on three of the many symbolic territories with wine-making drive: Barolo, Montalcino and Etna. The results of the impact analysis confirm and quantify the economic contribution assured by the sector: should the wine supply chain "disappear", 303,000 people would have to find another job and the country would lose an asset capable of generating (from direct, indirect and allied impact) annual production worth 45.2 billion euros and added value of 17.4 billion euros. A shock for Italy & Co. equal to 1.1% of GDP (sport, according to estimates by Istituto Credito Sportivo, is worth 1.3%). In this day after context, we would lose an economic multiplier capable of generating a contribution of 2.4 euros of production (and 0.9 of added value) for every 1 euro of expenditure set in motion by the wine industry. Lastly, every 62,000 euros of value generated by the supply chain ensure one job.
Without wine, as can be seen from Prometeia's analysis, the balance of trade of the agro-food sector would drop by 58% (from +12.3 to +5.1 billion euros in 2023), but even if the perimeter is widened beyond the food sector, it is very clear that Made in Italy would lose a vital factor for success. Last year, wine took second place in the positive balance of trade generated by Italian flag-bearers, behind jewellery/goldsmiths - which unlike wine benefited from a significant "price effect" - and ahead of leather goods, clothing, packaging machinery and footwear. Wine tourism makes a substantial contribution to the overall economic impact of the wine supply chain which, while making a marginal contribution to the tourist economy of large cities, is often fundamental (even over and above strictly economic aspects) for many small towns and rural communities with a wine-growing vocation. According to the findings of the Cities of Wine Association, ever year wine tourism involves around 15 million people (including travellers and excursionists) with daily budgets (124 euros) 13% higher than those of average tourists, for total expenditure of 2.6 billion euros. Starting from these data, the impact analysis highlights how losing this component would cause the loss of 15% of the overall added value generated by the wine supply chain.
These are the immediate, tangible economic impacts. In a closing section, Prometeia then analysed the global interest in Italian wine in qualitative terms through a web sentiment analysis. This highlighted from the search volumes over the last 12 months extracted from Google trends that wine - after pizza and pasta - ranks third in the world among the food products most associated with Made in Italy.
BAROLO, ETNA & MONTALCINO: THREE TERRITORIES SYMBOLISING ITALIAN WINE TRADITIONS
THE CONTRIBUTION IN LOCAL AREAS IS WORTH UP TO 10 TIMES THE VALUE OF THE BOTTLE
The slopes of a volcano, a medieval village and the most famous hills in Piedmont. Wine is the trait d'union between the Etna, Langhe and Montalcino areas - territories blessed by socio-economic development with a minimum common oenological denominator whereby every bottle of wine produced and consumed locally is capable of generating impact (direct, indirect and allied) that can be quantified as 117 euros per bottle for Montalcino, 109 euros for Barolo and 82 euros for Etna. A return of wealth into these area which, in just one year, corresponds to approximately 153, 131 and 123 million euros respectively - making them emblematic case studies of a multiplier effect attributable to a sector found all over Italy. The study carried out by the Uiv-Vinitaly Wine Observatory as part of the project “If you take wine away from Italy. A plunge into a half empty glass" was presented at the Veronafiere Show on the eve of the National Made in Italy Day. Montalcino, Barolo and Etna stand out not only for average prices per hectare and production yields well above regional values: in the last decade they have also managed to ensure higher growth in per capita income, by generating work and employment.
Inasmuch, in the Tuscan village where one hectare of Brunello vineyard is worth almost 8 times an equal plot in other parts of Tuscany (1 million euros compared to 129 thousand), the per capita income is much higher than the regional average and has grown over the last 10 years by 37.9%, compared to a national average of 11.1%. This is also seen in the Barolo wine district (with the highest land value), where the average per capita income, applying the same values as Montalcino, has grown by 23.7%. The booster effect for Etna may be evident yet is still detectable, standing at 12.6% over the decade compared to the average in Sicily of 9.9%. It is precisely here, on the slopes of the volcano, that land values 5 times higher than the regional average have encouraged young generations to return to their grandparents' fields, despite the difficulties of mountain wine-growing, with 2,000 hours of work per year for the bush-trained terraced hectares, for a total of 250,000 working days per year. This drive over the last 10 years has seen a 70% increase in vineyard areas (1,550 hectares, with average plots of less than one hectare for half the producers) and quadrupled bottled volumes (almost 6 million bottles in 2023).
These territories, with their pertinent protection consortia, have been able to identify in the virtuous relationship with wine - also a faithful guardian of the landscape against building and commercial speculation - an identifying vocation which finds its maximum (and most profitable) expression in wine tourism. According to the findings of the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, Montalcino - with just over 5,000 inhabitants and 16% of the workforce employed in the hospitality field - has around 80,000 official tourists - a huge flow met by more than 300 accommodation facilities and 3,000 bed places. The small town of Barolo - around 700 inhabitants - welcomes 20% of the 90,000 tourists who arrive in the area delimited by the Barolo DOCG regulations (11 towns), and has posted growth of 60% compared to pre-Covid values. In Etna, over and above the already magnetic charm of the volcano, wine has added a touch of masterly craftsmanship, helping to profile a more highly qualified and refined tourism, especially from abroad - so much so that today around 60% of the 150 companies in the wine supply chain also organise guided tours and tastings.
COMMENTS
Lollobrigida: “Italy without wine would be a poorer country.” Bricolo: “Wine helps create value even outside its own sector. It is a duty of Vinitaly to highlight these concepts.” Danese: “Wine is a component of the country's identity. Vinitaly aims to be the global testimonial for Italian wine-making.”
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, added: “Wine is one of Italy's most significant strategic products. This is also highlighted by the data in the Uiv-Vinitaly and Prometeia Observatory Reports which emphasise how the wine sector is such an important driving force for Made in Italy around the world. Events such as the OIV International Wine Conference, hosted this year in Franciacorta and Verona, not to mention Vinitaly, are useful opportunities for underlining how Italy is once again the beating heart of the entire European and global wine sector. Without wine, Italy would be a poorer nation, not only in cultural and environmental terms, but even on an economic level, since the wine sector is a strategic asset for employment and Italian exports. Wine is a valuable asset that must be protected in terms of its integrity and quality. Our task, alongside entrepreneurs, is to make it increasingly better and attractive. The Meloni Government immediately understood the importance of this sector and associated supply chains. This why it stands at the centre of its agenda, to promote it and make it increasingly competitive and recognizable around the world. This the right way ahead and for this reason we will continue in this direction."
Federico Bricolo, President of VeronaFiere, said: “Thinking about an Italy without wine was not a simple undertaking, not the least numbers alone are not enough to demonstrate the damage of a hypothetical loss of a part of Italy's DNA. Yet we were determined to turn on the spotlights, not the least on the occasion of the National Made in Italy Day, because wine is a socio-economic heritage that must be defended and protected. This is demonstrated by the focus on flagship denominations - Barolo, Etna and Montalcino - which like many others confirm the extent to which a wine-driven economy is capable of generating value even outside its immediate sector. By way of example, wine leads the way for all other agro-food products: as highlighted by the research, every percentage point of growth achieved by wine on a new market corresponds, two years later, to a similar growth for other food products. Vinitaly acknowledged its duty to reiterate these concepts on behalf of a supply chain that has placed its trust in its reference fair right from the outset."
Maurizio Danese, Managing Director of Veronafiere, said: “The impact study we presented today clearly demonstrates that wine is a fundamental resource for the Country System: calculating in terms of subtraction, without wine Italy would not lose 'only' 1.1% of its GDP. Since the "value" of wine is much greater than its economic contribution: wine is part of Italy's identity and is perceived as such abroad. An intangible yet equally qualifying asset of the Italian lifestyle and its values to which Vinitaly seeks to promote by being a sounding board. Vinitaly helps drive for the business of companies around the world yet also seeks to be a global testimonial of wine, its rural territories and culture, as symbolic elements of Made in Italy".