The fairs are back, Vinitaly is back with the Veronafiere Special Edition. These days the showcase of Italian wine is staged, a product of excellence that has never stopped being sold, bought and above all exported. The data for the first seven months of 2021 in fact photograph a robust growth in Italian wine exports (+14.5% compared to the same period last year, but also +10.7% compared to the first seven months of 2019), bringing the their value at € 4 billion; an increase above all beyond the European borders, with the United States as the first target market.

Excellent performance for Italian sparkling wine, in particular for Prosecco which in the period grew by more than 30%, once again driven by the American market which recorded an average growth of over 40%, but the growth towards first “friendly competitors”: Prosecco sales to Paris grew by 15.2% in the first seven months of the year. Further potential for Italian Prosecco could come from the recent diatribe between Russia and France over the ban on the use of the Champagne appellation in Cyrillic that unleashed the French wineries against Moscow; therefore, if on the one hand there will probably be a reduction in the Russian demand for Champagne, on the other hand an advancement of Italian Prosecco is already being recorded.

Positive notes also for the export of Italian spirits, which in the first seven months of the year grew by 23.2%; a widespread increase in all products in the group, in particular cider which exceeded vermouth in value (approximately € 140 million vs € 120 million), thanks to an increase of almost 50% compared to the same period of the year previous. The centrality of the main markets for the export of made in Italy wine is confirmed, namely the United States, Germany, Switzerland and Canada, where the Italian market share is already high and will benefit from the growth in consumption expected on average just below 3%. Even in countries even less covered by Italian sales in the sector, such as China and Japan, there is potential in the face of expected strong increases in consumption. Furthermore, good business opportunities will come from smaller markets such as Vietnam or some northern European countries.