WINE: SYSTEM ITALY TEAMS UP: DEBUT FOR THE VINITALY USA 2024 PROJECT

THE EVENT UNDERWAY IN CHICAGO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE IWE IS A DECISIVE STEP

ZOPPAS (ICE): TRADE FAIRS ARE STRATEGIC FOR BUSINESS MATCHING

BRICOLO (VERONAFIERE): LONG-TERM TEAMWORK WITH INSTITUTIONS VITAL FOR SUCCESS

DANESE (VERONAFIERE): DISCUSSIONS ALREADY BEING HELD WITH IMPORTERS FOR THE 2024 EDITIONVinitaly USA 2024 comes to life in Chicago. System Italy is making a clear statement at the International Wine Expo underway in the capital of the Midwest region - with 70 million inhabitants and Italian wine imports worth 200 million dollars. The event this year is co-signed by Vinitaly with more than 200 companies presenting 1000+ labels for tasting.

"Long-standing teamwork with institutions has proven us right. We have overcome an important and complex challenge to bring together all the projects within the scope of the Vinitaly brand and create an emphatic promotional occasion for the Italian wine sector in the USA," said Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere during the opening ceremony.

Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere

Confirmation of this also came from Matteo Zoppas, President of the ICE Trade Agency: "Trade fairs are strategic for business matching, especially for small-medium companies. Alongside Veronafiere and Vinitaly, which have already moved with care on this market, ICE is evaluating together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Assocamerestero, all in attendance in Chicago in recent days, the project to make Vinitaly USA 2024 the main strategic event for this fundamental market."

Matteo Zoppas, President of the ICE Trade Agency

A strategic bridge between Italy and the world's largest market ("made in Italy" exports to the USA in 2022 were worth 1.8 billion euros). "Vinitaly USA 2024 will also follow the indications of the new importers' committee with whom we will share strategies and common interests for the development of Italian wine. The objective is to make relationships with the market even more profitable given its current great interest in premium wines at the same time as looking for new proposals. Italy and its 540 grape varieties is ideally placed to offer a unique selection of wines capable of satisfying the needs of the ho.re.ca sector, importers and distributors," said the Managing Director of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese.

The choice of Chicago as the venue for the new trade fair initiative in 2024 is by no means accidental: it is the agri-food centre of the USA, “there are more than 100 Italian companies in the area, including large food groups, and Midwest is an area that still offers considerable potential for development for Italian companies," said the Italian Consul General in Chicago, Thomas Botzios.

Italian Consul General in Chicago, Thomas Botzios

All the more, pairings with Italian cuisine are also fundamental for promoting wine and the Italian community is rather large and well established in this part of the United States of America.

“It is a marvellous opportunity for Chicago to host a promotional event such as this. There is nothing of comparable size and quality in the USA. And the culture of food is a formidable driving force for wine. In this case, Italian cuisine is an extraordinary driving for Italian wine  labels," said Bill Terlato, CEO of the Terlato Wine Group. 

This year's exhibition debut for Vinitaly in the United States came about thanks to collaboration with Italian Expo, the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce of Chicago and the Midwest and the ICE Trade Agency in Chicago and New York. These realities have strong roots in the political and economic fabric of Illinois. The Gala dinner was attended by high-profile figures including the Vice Governor of the State of Illinois, Juliana Stratton, and the Secretary of State of Illinois, Alexi Giannoulias.

WINE (VINITALY-IWE): WINE CONSUMPTION IN USA DOWN BY 7.5%. ITALY (-3.2%) DOES BETTER THAN AVERAGE, POOR PERFORMANCE FOR FRENCH (-14.5%) AND US WINES (-8.3%)

US CATERING SPEAKS ITALIAN WITH 44% OF IMPORTED WINES. ON-TRADE BUYERS IN THE FOREFRONT AT IWE CHICAGO

 Times are still difficult in the United States, even in terms of actual consumption, as the leading first country in the world for wine imports (7.3 billion dollars last year) and wine enthusiasts (with 4.5 billion bottles uncorked every year). The UIV-Vinitaly Observatory during the Vinitaly-International Wine Expo in Chicago (22-23 October) presented data analysis for sales in the "out of home" (on-trade) and large-scale distribution and retail (off-trade) covering the first 8 months of 2023. The trend gap in volumes consumed posted -7.5%, a result particularly arising from the difficulties encountered in off-trade (-8.3%) only partially offset by the result for catering and clubs (-2.1%).

Analysis by the Observatory - based on SipSource information - which monitors over 75% of sales through commercial establishments - highlights many differences in wine consumption trends among US wine lovers. Local wines, which clearly lead the marker with 71% of total consumption, posted a downturn (-8.2%) slightly higher than average. Italian wines follow at a distance, covering 10.2% of overall demand and 35% of imported products; in this case, the glass is half full if we consider that the loss is no more than 3.2% and that the on-trade sector - the channel with the highest added value - even posted an improvement (+1.2%). And while Chilean wines held firm posting just -3%, New Zealand confirms its growing popularity among American wine enthusiasts: +2% was the figure for the first 8 months, thanks above all to a fine performance in the catering field (+7.6%) given that Sauvignon Blanc is increasingly trendy on the US white wine scene. New Zealand's progress - according to Italian Wine Union-Vinitaly Observatory - meant that Australia fell back by one position (-4.9%) distancing itself, at least in terms of quantities, from the market leader as regards value - France - which is experiencing significant difficulties (-14.5%), in off-trade (-16.8%) and on-trade (-8.1%) sectors alike.

The Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory suggests that inflation, the raw materials costs and de-stocking are causing difficulties for the Italian exports to the United States. However, by segmenting data and looking at actual consumption in terms of volume, it appears that - in this context - Americans are very reluctant to give up Italian wines, even compared to US wines and those of other important producer countries. In particular, the horeca channel - the segment most represented among the 350 buyers attending the International Wine Expo - in the first 8 months of this year saw Italian wines sold through US on-trade equal to almost 44% of total imported wines, far higher than the share for France (13.8%) and New Zealand (10.7%)."

Vinitaly's trade fair debut in the United States is the outcome of Veronafiere's collaboration with Italian Expo, the Chicago and Midwest Chamber of Commerce and the ICE Trade Agency. The Verona-based player - which organizes the main event in the world dedicated to Italian wine every year - for the first time became a partner of the International Wine Expo (IWE), scheduled 22-23 October in Chicago. Around 200 Italian companies are taking part in the event presenting more than one thousand labels at the business event, matching 350 specialist buyers arriving mainly from the Midwest selected in collaboration with the ICE Trade Agency.

Source: Vinitaly