May 21 – Italian wine exports to Russia overtake the French ones, for a total value of € 26.88 million and a volume of 82.42 million hectoliters. “Russia has increased its consumption of Italian wine – said the president of the Grandi Marchi, Piero Antinori, who announced a tour of Russia starting May 23 – beyond the two large cities of reference, Moscow and St. Petersburg, where we have worked hard in these years to promote the best Italian wines, we now focus on less developed, but still promising areas, like Sochi. The pearl of the Black Sea catalyzes in the summer months more than 4 million visitors. We consider it an interesting place where to tie commercial relations with distributors and restaurateurs, also in light of the upcoming Winter Olympics.” With its numerous visitors from May to September doubling the local population, Sochi is a mandatory stop for the Grandi Marchi Institute. It will stop there on May 23, before continuing to Krasnaya Poliyana on May 24, Moscow and St. Petersburg on May 28-30. These four stops, in essence, aim at consolidating the supremacy of Italian wine in Russia, which in January-February 2013 doubled its consumption compared to the same period of 2012, rising from € 14.82 million to € 26.88 million, with volume increasing from 45.07 million to 82.43 million hectoliters. During the same period of 2013, France maintained its 2012 position with a value of € 21.55 million and 72.94 million hectoliters (data from Wine monitor). The trend confirms the great potential of Italian wine exports but should not, however, deter from pursuing promotion policies. “Because of this – concluded Antinori – the Istituto Grandi Marchi continuously monitors market movements and focuses on emerging realities where Italian wine is increasingly known and appreciated.” The Istituto Grandi Marchi recorded, in 2011, a total turnover of €500 million, of which over 60% came from abroad.
