Observations on the Italian Taste Summit

Some interesting considerations about the world of Italian wine came out of the first edition of the Italian Taste Summit.

The Italian Taste Summit was a “useful” event for wine producers as well as for wine lovers and we in the media. It was a B2B event that brought together Italian wine producers with foreign buyers and sector operators organized by Miro & Co Wine Global Aspect at the Splendido Bay Luxury Spa Resort in Padenghe, on Lake Garda.

Some 30 estates from all over Italy took part and offered their wines for tasting to foreign importers (mostly from Eastern Europe) and an ample representation from the press. The event also included a section entitled Rural Heritage in Export, which sought to explain the value Italian products have abroad and why this was so.

Speakers:

Maria Carmela Ostillo, Associate Professor of Practice of Brand Management and Coordinator of the Brand Academy SDA Bocconi School of Management.

Leonardo Morosini, CEO at LC International

Alberto Bracalenti of Crowe Valente

Carlo Pietrasanta of the Movemento Turismo del Vino Lombardo

Caterina Garofalo, Ainem Presient, the Italian Association of Neuro Marketing

Mattia Vezzola, enologist for Costaripa

By analyzing Italian production and trying to codify the behavior of Italian consumers it becomes clear that, to enhance the value of Italian products, producers need to reason as if they were a business. Given the many tools and assistance available today, like OCM, even family enterprises should take a step forward (if they’re interested in foreign markets) and not underestimate organizational and strategic market options. In other words, they need to be more professional and less improvisational.

While this may seem obvious, the world of Italian wine is still strongly represented by family-run estates that get by best they can. Families that can run an estate deserve respect but if they are interested in certain markets, then just getting by is not enough.

An aspect that all speakers agreed upon was the importance of brand recognition, which represents an added value, a catch name that, for the same quality, consumers are willing to pay more.

If the foreign market is their target, wine producers (as for any enterprise) need strategy, awareness and an identity.

Becoming a brand (with loyal clients, being associated with a status symbol and acquiring recognizability over the years) does mean one needs to ignore or lose their origins, quite the contrary! This was underscored by enologist Mattia Vezzolo who argued that the value (acquired over the years) of a territory is fundamental because it contributes and enriches the meaning of what one does. And to fully understand this value, sometimes one has to leave their territory so when they return they will see it with different eyes. He added that, when young, he learned this way that “pink wines” were consumed abroad by people of a certain cultural level and social profile. This image was far different Italy where it is considered a simple pink table wine. Knowing this and keeping it in mind, he was able to create Valtènesi Molmenti.

At this point I will introduce a final impotent factor to take into consideration in order to better know, appreciate and love Italian wine in Italy and abroad: storytelling.

While it is true that words must be backed up by facts and results, storytelling has always played a fundamental role in describing Italian enterprises. And this is what has made them unique and, above all (in a world of numbers, targets and graphs), made them human. It is that pinch of folklore mixed with tradition that embellishes products and makes them impossible to replicate and this is an Italian added value.