Raise your glasses: the harvest is about to begin. And it will be yet another duel between Italy and France, this time divided by the primacy in wine production. The Bel Paese starts in the lead, thanks to the 49,8 million hectoliters produced in 2022 out of the 678 hectares cultivated. But, warns Coldiretti, the leadership this year is at risk: between bad weather, heat waves and damage from parasites, there is a risk of losing 14 percent of production, with peaks of up to 50 percent in some areas of Southern Italy, from Puglia to Sicily up to the negative record of Abruzzi and Molise, which they even risk a drop of 60 percent. And so, barring a recovery to the photo finish, we won't go beyond i 43/44 million hectoliters, a thread under France which is also about to end a truly difficult year, marked by the scorching heat and the attack of mildew, or downy mildew, the nightmare of winemakers which has hit the Bordeaux vineyards hard also because – he complains on Le Monde a producer – “environmental laws forbid us to use the most effective pesticides: it's like going to war with a water pistol”.
Harvest 2023: the challenge between Italy and France on volumes
In short, we start with uncertainty because it will take at least 2/3 weeks (hopefully with good weather) to understand how it will end. At least in terms of volumes, all in all the least important. Why the real problem is not in producing the precious juice of Bacchus, but in selling it in an increasingly complex market. For several reasons: the increase in consumption is slowing down in China, which also boasts more vineyards than Italy (728 hectares against 678), a customer who seemed inexhaustible; the slowdown of the economies in most consuming countries accompanied by greater competition from other beverages also due to the limits set by "responsible consumption" which does not distinguish between spirits and a glass of prosecco. Added to this is the increase in production costs (+9,5%) partly due to inflation and partly due to the increase in labor costs in the face of an increasingly unobtainable workforce. This explains the alarmUiv Vinitaly observatory which at the end of July noted the record accumulation of wine in the cellars together with the drop in exports to non-EU countries starting from the United States.
Harvest 2023. from problems to solutions. The Masi case
In short, there are problems. But the solution, as always, goes from knowing how to look at the glass half full rather than crying over the spilled Barolo. The important thing, the diagnosis is, is to focus on the quality of the product but also in the ability to broaden the dimensions of the offer to conquer markets willing to pay.
That's what they did to Farms, historic label of the Boscaini family, which this week announced the purchase of 100% of Agricola Casa Re, owner of the Montecalvo Versiggia winery in the Oltrepò Pavese, near Santa Maria della Versa. A light operation from a financial point of view (2 million euros for the 13 hectares planted with Pinot Noir grapes that surround an Art Nouveau villa) but significant on a strategic level. Masi, listed on theEgm of Piazza Affari, expands its presence in the already strong bubbles sector due to the purchase of Prosecco Canevel and the partnerships with Bossi Fedrigotti in Trentino and with the Tuscan Serego Alighieri. The goal is to broaden the offer in the face of a market which, having exhausted the post-Covid euphoria, has become more complex.
"We are registering a marked change in the attitude of customers, especially foreign customers, with respect to supplies in the sign of growing prudence and a return to 'just in time'", he said Sandro Boscaini, president of the Amarone dynasty. “As expected, the trend now is the reduction of inventories to face both the increase in interest rates and a visibly slower consumption. Contextual and therefore uncontrollable phenomena, such as the inflationary pressure that weighs on families and a certain generalized concern, also due to the persistence of geopolitical problems, combined with the weather conditions that are quite adverse to tourism and more, lead us to be cautious in expectations for the second semester". Despite this, "the strategy does not change: premium positioning, increasingly direct contact with the final consumer and omnichannel distribution"
And so we aim to reverse course after a difficult semester. Compared to the 2022 accounts (turnover of approximately 75 million euros and an ebitda margin of approximately 18%), Masi recorded in first half of 2023 net revenues of 33,1 million euros, down by 10,4% (-8,4% at constant exchange rates), an ebitda of 5,5 million (8,4 million in the same period last year).
M&A is increasing: luxury groups and high finance are focusing on wine
The tendency to grow is not exclusive to the Veneto group. It is no coincidence that M&A have increased in recent years: from 7 transactions in 2020 to 22 last year awaiting a new record. The path is obligatory: for experts, the minimum size to be able to compete on a global scale is around seventy million in order to be prepared, structured and with a visible position on the international market.
Hence the attention of the world of finance and that of fashion in the wake of LVMH and Henry Pinault who have always collected chateaux. A race involving private equity and specialized funds with two exceptional protagonists: Sandro Veronesi of Calzedonna which, through its subsidiary Signorvino, acquired Giova, a company from Valpolicella. AND Renzo Rosso by Diesel very active with his Brave Wine, from the Langhe to 40% of the Sicilian Benanti. Even too active for the Masi winery of which it controls 10%. The board of directors decided to remove the two directors representing Rosso due to conflict of interest. A dispute that will land in court in December. For a glass of wine, as we know, you can even argue (and then make peace).
