Understanding what is happening in the wine world at this time is not easy, but certainly the phenomenon should not be trivialized and brought back to a single element. This is a perfect storm.
Simplifications are useful if they do not trivialize content.
It makes me smile to read more and more often of the analyses made “by the pound” about the situation of wine in Italy and the world, attributing to this or that reason what is happening.
Prices too high? Of course, it is one of the elements. In the face of a decline in consumption there is a rise in prices. Against the past effects of the inflation, which has caused a loss of purchasing power in recent years (we are talking about 9 percent more or less) there is no real decrease in the prices, partly because the costs of energy, transportation, packaging, glass, fertilizer, have gone way up. So it is not just a pretended shortsightedness or excessive greed that leads to this, but the Effects of global economic situations, determined by many factors.
Let’s also put in the wars, the fact that there is a kind of demonization of wine fairly widespread, that many young people do not find it particularly appealing to them, that the perception of the new highway code (although little has changed) has frightened many people, that on some television programs there has been harsh criticism of the wine industry. Add to that the U.S. duties, the German economic crisis, and the very strong euro in exchange rates with the dollar and pound.
The crisis of “related” sectors
Let’s put it all together and maybe we start to get a little clearer idea of the situation, which is not at all positive. Then we also need to see Which market sectors are in more crisis than others. What is happening in catering, distribution. The difficulties of online sales sites. There is not, in short, a single cause, there is a perfect storm. We will see what happens in the upcoming holiday season, but expectations are not particularly optimistic.
Then there are those who pontificate and know everything and have all sorts of decisive opinions. Blessed are they.
In our own small way we are completing the presentations of The Essential Guide with surprising public success at such a time. In Milan, in Rome, in London. We will have in the coming days Zurich and Munich with the release of the German edition of Wines for all budgets (Grosse Weine zu kleinen Preisen). This is because one of the characteristics of wine is that it is eventually drunk, and this can happen at restaurants, wine bars, and also at events where it is tasted. And Of passionate people there are perhaps fewer, but there are still many. Perhaps we need to start from there.
