Top white wines from the Marche to conquer new markets – Current News – CentroPagina

ANCONA – The 56th edition of the has just ended in Verona Vinitaly, an international review of not only Italian wine, which the Marche region looks and has always looked at with great attention, supported by the numbers which this year too, in a context of general decline in sales, see the top wines of the Marche region represented by the Istituto Marchigiano Protection of wines going against the trend. He talks about Vinitaly and wines from the Marche Michele Bernettipresident of IMT who was present at the Veronese event with 38 wineries in the Marche stand plus the others scattered around.

Michele Bernetti, what is your assessment of this Vinitaly?
«A positive Vinitaly, we had a lot of attendance in general, and there also seems to be good interest in the Marche region. Many people wandered around the consortium stand, where we also organized various events to focus attention on all the wines and all the denominations. I saw a certain enthusiasm, a certain positivity, given that we were coming from a period that was certainly not positive. We must be quite satisfied.”

Interest from abroad or more from Italy?
«There was a lot of Italy, but also a lot of people from abroad, so much so that Vinitaly provided an official document which speaks of 30% more registered and official foreign operators, perhaps a little less from the United States and from Asia, but I also saw Australians, in short all the main markets were covered.”

What is still missing, if anything, from the Marche wine system?
«That positioning is still missing, that perception, even from the outside, of value that the wines have, given the many results and the rankings that the guides have seen, with three wines from the Marche in the top ten. We need to work to make this quality and value perceived by translating it into turnover and sales prices of the product. Not an easy road to travel, which must cover the supply chain but also the entire region that enhances its product.”

Is it good or bad to have two consortia?
«I am often asked this question, but people don’t realize that we are already an exception, in other regions there are consortia for individual denominations, we are a virtuous exception. The IMT groups together 16 denominations, the others are consortium members in the Consorzio Vini Piceni, we have already aggregated a lot. We are already a region seen as an example. So much so that the Sicilians came to visit us to understand how to follow a route like ours. It is already an achievement to have only two, the Marche is an example of aggregation, we are collaborating very well. And then we have a tool called Food Brand Marche which is a very important vehicle, which brings together the wine and typical products of the food district, a unique regional aggregation”.

Attractiveness abroad: what is the ranking of the Marche wine represented by IMT?
«It is also a question of surface area in hectares: Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, the largest and best-known denomination, has an export of around 35-40%, Matelica smaller but with a similar share, they are two denominations that have always they made history. Appellations such as Conero have a good foreign share, around 30%, as does Lacrima, the others have smaller shares, but with greater room for growth. It’s not easy to be known. These are figures to be quite happy with if you consider that the Italian export figure is around 20%, at least in these denominations we are well positioned”.

What other interesting data comes from Vinitaly?
«There is a general shift in consumption towards white wines, today white wine, including sparkling wine, exceeds 50%, which is very different compared to a few years ago. We, as a consortium that represents 70% of whites, understood as production volume or vineyard area, are very well positioned on this trend.”

What are the fastest growing denominations?
«The upper part, the reserves of Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi and Matelica, +30% from one year to the next. In an overall figure that sees a decline in sales, aligned with that of the rest of Italy, I am talking about 2023 data over 2022, we are increasing the turnover of the high end of the market. This shows that there is a different perception of different white which is no longer an alternative to red but an alternative to quality consumption.”