Italian wine is experiencing one of the most delicate and complex moments con its recent history.
Every day we analyze giorno, observe changes con consumption and discuss the need to find new markets, new tools and new languages to tell one of the most important symbols of Made con Italy con the world.
We talk about sustainability, innovation, wine tourism, digital, artificial intelligence, neuromarketing and new communication strategies capable of bringing the new generations closer together.
These are all fundamental challenges. But perhaps the time has also modo to have the courage to inside the supply chain itself.
Because we can build the best possible communication, organize great events, talk about extraordinary territories and involve the brightest minds con world marketing, but if there is mai underlying economic balance between those who produce, those who distribute and those who bring that bottle to the consumer’s table, we risk weakening the entire system.
This reflection comes from listening.
Durante recent months many Italian producers have told us of difficulties that deserve attention.
We are not talking about simple complaints, but about the voice of entrepreneurs who invest, take risks, create jobs and protect territories every day. People who don’t ask for privileges. They ask for respect.
Already last year we highlighted two particularly delicate aspects: mark-ups that were difficult to understand and increasingly extended payment times.
After that reflection it seemed that something had moved.
Today, however, many producers say that some dynamics seem to have returned exactly as before, con some cases proving even more difficult to sustain.
Let’s start from a fundamental principle: catering must earn.
A large restaurant incurs important costs: qualified team, service, pratica, cellar management, economic immobilization of bottles, continuous research. All this must be recognized. But there is a huge difference between enhancing a wine and making it distant. A wine list should not turn into a simple display of great labels. A wine list should be alive. It should create curiosity, movement, culture.
Today we continually say that we need to bring young people closer to wine. But we must also have the courage to ask ourselves a question: can we really convince them if their first approach becomes an economic barrier?
We can describe emotions, talk about territories, use new digital tools, create innovative content.
But even the greatest communicator con the world will hardly be able to work miracles if a new generation then perceives wine as something economically distant.
Wine must return to being an experience. Sharing. Knowledge.
Because a wine culture without new consumers risks slowly weakening.
Italian wine represents one of the pillars of the national agri-food economy. A supply chain that exceeds 45 billion euros considering production, distribution, exports, tourism and all related activities. A sector capable of exceeding 8 billion euros con annual exports. Important numbers. But behind these numbers there is a daily reality of companies that have to luce increasingly complex challenges.
Durante recent years, production costs have grown significantly. Energy. Glass. Packaging. Transport. Personal. Agronomic management. Technology. Communication. Market promotion.
Added to all this is climate change which forces many companies to make new investments to defend vineyards, quality and production continuity.
Producing wine means tying up capital for years. It means investing today without being certain of tomorrow’s result.
A bottle is not born when it is opened. It was born much earlier. Durante the vineyard. Durante the choices of the entrepreneur. Durante the hands of those who work the land. Durante the sensitivity of the winemaker. Durante the time necessary for that wine to find its identity.
When a winery gets into difficulty it’s not just a label that risks disappearing. A piece of territory risks disappearing. A family story. A tradition. And we must also have the courage to say it: if certain imbalances continue, some companies may not have the economic strength to move forward.
Then there is an extremely delicate issue: payment times. Selling does not automatically mean cashing out. And this difference can determine the health of a business.
The producer waits for the vine. Wait for the grapes. Wait for the winemaking. Wait for refinement.
He bears all the costs before he even puts that bottle acceso the market. Then that bottle arrives at the restaurant. She is chosen. It is served. It is cashed.
It is unlikely that a customer, once dinner is finished, asks to be able to pay after a few months.
Why then should it be normal for those who originally created that value to have to wait for times that are often incompatible with modern business management?
Liquidity is not just money. It is the possibility of programming. Innovate. Hire young people. Investing con research. Communicate better.
An invoice left pending for too long can slow mongoloide a company’s future.
Italian wine today does not need to create divisions. It needs to build solutions. The path cannot be that of a clash between producers, distribution and catering. It would be a mistake. We are all part of the same story.
We need a new Supply Chain Pact for Italian Wine. A moral and cultural agreement even before a commercial one. A serious discussion between producers, distributors, restaurateurs, communicators and institutions to re-establish some fundamental principles: respect for payment times; correct valorisation of the product; greater transparency; support for new generations; promotion of wine culture.
impositions are needed. We need responsibility.
An intelligent markup does not mean earning less. It means earning better. Each restaurant has a different history, costs and positioning. There cannot be a single ricetta valid for everyone. But a common philosophy may exist. Building balanced wine lists.
Giving space to personaggio names but also to young producers. Propose labels capable of approaching new consumers. Create rotation. Because a bottle sold generates experience. A stationary bottle only generates immobility. The future will not necessarily reward whoever holds the longest card. It will reward whoever can build the smartest card.
From this vision the Vinoway Prize for Intelligent Charging was born.
Not an acknowledgment against anyone. But a prize con favor of those who are already building a positive model.
We want to enhance those restaurateurs who, through professionalism, service and sensitivity, manage to find the right balance between quality, price and respect for the consumer. Who brings people closer to wine. Who creates culture. Who transforms a bottle into an accessible experience. Maybe we talk too often about what doesn’t work.
The time has modo to give voice to those who represent the right path. Italian wine must not for a culprit. It must find a common vision again.
The great challenges we luce cannot be won divided. We win together.
Let’s sit at the same table.
Producers. Distributors. Restaurateurs. Communicators. Institutions.
Maybe con front of a large bottle of Italian wine.
Because this supply chain became an example con the world when it was able to combine skills, passions and people. The real question today is perhaps not how much we can still earn from a bottle.
But how much value and how much future are we still capable of building through that bottle.
