Wine: a golden year for Verdicchio, the expkloit of the bottle The whites that symbolize the wines of the Marche region are flying in a year that has put Italian food and wine in serious difficulty. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and Verdicchio di Matelica in fact close 2020 with an exponential increase of the bottled, reported by Valoritalia at +36,9% and +14,8% respectively.
An unprecedented result in the recent history of the 2 products that symbolize a region increasingly prone to whites, which contributed to driving the overall figure on bottled PDO and PGI Marches in the difficult socio-economic context of last year in the green light (+5%). year.
“Verdicchio – said the director of the Marche Institute for the protection of wines (Imt), Alberto Mazzoni – reaps what it has sown in the last 10 years: productions consistent with the very high quality of the terroir recognized by international critics, but also tens of millions of euros invested by the producers in the vineyard, cellar and in promotional activities. And maximum attention to the return on investment, where – measured by Nomisma Wine Monitor – for every euro invested in promotion abroad, 8 are obtained by virtue of sales.
Today, thanks to the state seals, the growth path for the Verdicchio Docs will be even easier, starting with traceability and the fight against counterfeiting for a wine that is increasingly famous in the world", added the director of the maxi-consortium from the Marche region, who it has 652 member companies for 16 denominations of origin, 4 of which Docg.
Overall, in 2020 the bottled of Verdicchio Castles of Jesi it almost reached 190 hectoliters between Doc and Docg, 51 more than in 2019. The bottled Matelica also did well at 19 hectoliters against the 16.500 of the previous year.
Overall, IMT notes, exports held up for the 2 denominations thanks to a leap in demand in the first four months of 2020, while it is the domestic market has grown a lot in particular in the second part of the year, thanks to the repositioning of the manufacturing companies, deprived of a natural channel such as catering. Growth in direct sales, proximity sales, e-commerce and above all the repositioning of some high-quality brands on large-scale distribution are the 4 winning moves of the producers, who have ferried Verdicchio out of the danger of the crisis.
For 2021, IMT has implemented a program of promotional actions with investments of over 3 million euros and a global campaign digital impact. In the foreground, the EU resources of the wine CMO for promotion in third countries and the rural development plans for actions within the EU.
Watchwords: multi-channel promotion strategies capable of overcoming barriers and bringing the wines of the Marche region to Italy and the world. “We are accelerating a lot on digital – concluded Mazzoni -, the Covid he forced it on us and I think he will oblige us to do it at least for the first part of the year. The plan is finalized and will be presented next week with all stakeholders."
