by Alessandra Cardone
VERONA, Italy, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The mood among operators at the 2018 Vinitaly wine exhibition, which run on April 15-18 in the northern Italian city of Verona, was upbeat.
Some 128,000 people visited the fair -- the key event for Italy's wine industry -- with attendance by accredited international buyers up by 6 percent to 32,000.
A total of 4,380 exhibitors from 36 countries took part in this 52 edition, while business delegations came from some 140 countries and regions in the world, according to organizers.
Furthermore, the latest data by Coldiretti farmers' association showed a 13 percent export increase in January only.
It was thus not surprising to hear the 12 major domestic stakeholders -- involved in a survey by Vinitaly and Nomisma Wine Monitor on the last day of the fair -- were expecting Italian wines to keep growing on foreign markets in the next five years.
Hopes for growth would run especially high in relation to Eastern countries, such as Russia, Japan, and of course China where a culture of wine was developing fast.
In the Lombardy Pavilion, two hundreds producers and 2,000 labels represented the identity of a region that was "small" in quantity -- compared to Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, or Sicily -- but "large" in quality.
Lombardy averagely counts for only 3 percent of Italy's production; yet, it boasts a long tradition and many excellences.
Despite most of its wineries were small and micro firms, the role of public institutions and consortiums was crucial to make Lombardy wines stand out. As such, the regional government and the chambers' association UnionCamere together promoted the collective presence at the international fair.
"In a region best known for its economic prowess, it may come as a surprise that the quality and variety of wines matches the best ones from Italy," UnionCamere Lombardy president Gian Domenico Auricchio explained.
Last year, Lombardy's wine exports registered the highest rise in three countries: Russia (260.8 percent), Brazil (126.7 percent), and China (41 percent).
At the booth of Nino Negri winery, oenologist and director Casimiro Maule pleasantly talked to potential buyers, offering a tasting of their best wines.
Having worked in the company for 47 years, he could testify its development strategy at best.
"We have been exporting to China for about 10 years now, and specifically one of our best red wines (the 5Stelle Sfurzat)," Maule told Xinhua.
"We have also welcomed several Chinese operators to our winery for tasting sessions," he added.
Established in 1897, the Nino Negri was the largest producer in the Valtellina valley, a mountainous area in north Lombardy that is especially devoted to Nebbiolo grapes, from which one of Italy's most prestigious reds -- the Barolo -- is made.
The oenologist explained their first approach with Chinese consumers had not been simple, since Nebbiolo was a "structured" grape, not easy to understand for any palate at first instance.
"We still need to work in the next future to help increase the taste for such wines in countries like China, through tasting sessions and exchanges," Maule said.
The winery could benefit from a further promotion channel, since the GIV Group (Gruppo Italiano Vini) to which they belong has established its own agency in China.
Valtellina's Nebbiolo vineyards were grown between 350 and 750 metres above sea level, and machines cannot access them. Vines were still tended (and grapes gathered) manually only.
Yet, Maule dismissed there was something "heroic" in such effort: "It is the vine to work hard, more than the man," he said with a smile.
Optimism on future trends and a growing interest for the Asian markets were also showed by winemakers from Lombardy's Oltrepo' Pavese, an area south of Milan that counted some 13,500 hectares of vineyards, and an average production of 800,000-950,000 hectolitres.
An excellence from that territory was the Pinot Noir sparkling made mostly or fully with Pinot Noir grapes, and applying the so-called "Classic Method" (the same used for French champagne).
After Italy's Prosecco got into the spotlight in several countries in the last five years -- including Canada, the United States and Britain -- operators there felt it was the right time to push other "Italian bubbles" abroad.
"This is an auspicious moment to boost Pinot Noir sparkling," Emanuele Bottiroli, director of the Consortium for the Protection of Oltrepo' Pavese Wines, told Xinhua.
"Now, our largest foreign markets are the United States, Canada, and Japan; tomorrow, it will hopefully be UK and China," he stressed.
Bottiroli highlighted Pinot Noir vines needed specific conditions to grow, and a delicate work in the vineyard, since its grape had a very thin peel.
The Oltrepo' Pavese Consortium was hoping to enter the Chinese market in some two years, with the Pinot Noir sparkling and a sweet red bubbly wine called Sangue di Giuda.
Before starting selling, however, they would also go through tasting sessions, ad-hoc events, and exchanges of professionals, according to the director.
"First, we need to adapt out production, and be sure we are able to provide the Chinese with the varieties and the taste they require," Bottiroli confirmed.
Finally, as some officials noted, Italian wines may also benefit from the encouraging results Italian overall agrifood products registered in Asian markets.
"We have a stable presence in Japan with our Franciacorta sparkling, and we are working much also on China," Lombardy regional councillor for Agriculture Fabio Rolfi confirmed to Xinhua.
"Our agrifood sales to China rose by 10 percent in 2017... It is a younger market, and it may offer higher margins for growth for wines as well," the official stressed.
