In haphazard fashion

by Daniele Cernilli 03/27/17
1075 |
|
In ordine sparso

Italians are known for being individualistic to the extreme, no matter what the consequences, and yet they believe more in egalitarianism than meritocracy, which seems a contradiction. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of wine. Many small producers are convinced they can resolve their problems on their own, not only those related to winemaking but also distribution and exports. And this applies to promotion with many limiting themselves to tastings reserved for so-called ‘journalists’ (who often are not) and ‘bloggers’ who, if they are lucky, are read by relatives and their small ‘entourage’. With rare exception (one is the Federation of Independent Italian Winemakers [FIVI] Wine Market in Rome May 12-14) they do not work together and have no efficient communication or marketing strategy, something many consider to be rocket science and not applicable to sales. The result is that everyone moves forward in haphazard fashion, almost by chance, without ever really preparing themselves for the events they do take part in. In other words, they do not select events where their participation would be more efficient and profitable and are put off by promotional opportunities because they think they are being made fools of and that this is a waste of time and energy. Thus at trade fairs they find themselves poised against armies of prepared and ambitious French and Spanish producers, along with those from Chile and Argentina, who arrive super-organized with power-point presentations and other audio-visual and media tools. Their organization is focused and benefits from the constant support of their respective governments who coordinate their efforts. It would not be that difficult for Italy to do the same. Italian producers could, for example, work together to utilize available European Union funds on time without giving cause to the government to first block and then unblock them when it is too late. Italian producers could also coordinate their participation in international trade fairs to ensure that the Italian stand is as recognizable as those of France or Spain, complete with a slew of national flags and not those of individual producer associations. All things considered, what Italian producers need is a change in mentality in order to truly work as a team. Both individual producers and producer associations must work closer together to attract public attention and hammer out a strategy for the future of Italian wine. Exports of Italians wines are at a standstill and the fact that it is not in decline is thanks to the amazing international success of Prosecco, especially in Britain and the United States. Either Italy wakes up and reacts to this reality or all the triumphant declarations made a year ago will only be reduced to worst kind of political hot air, those in which it is clear they do not understand the problem and have no idea on how to deal with it. Moving in haphazard fashion never leads anywhere.





Editorial of the week

Events

March 2024
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
·
·
·
·
·
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
·
·
·
·
·
·

Newsletter

Subscribe to the "DoctorWine" newsletter to receive updates and being kept informed.
Update Privacy Permissions (GDPR)

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL