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Italian wines are "affordable luxury items" that are succesfully challenging the current economic crisis. This, in a few words, was the message launched by the panelists of "The 2009 Harvest in Italy: The World Outlook for Italian Wine", a seminar held during "Vino 2010 - The Italian Wine Week".

Giuseppe Martelli, President of the Comitato Nazionale Vini and Managing Director of Assoenologi; Harvey Finkel, medical professor at Boston University Medical Center; Lamberto Frescobaldi, Vice President of Marchesi de'Frescobaldi; Laura DePasquale, Vice President, Fine Wine Development at Palm Bay International; and Ray Isle, Senior Wine Editor at "Food & Wine Magazine", offered a complete and indepth overview of the status and potential growth of  importing of Italian wines in the United States.

"According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Italy remains the No. 1 source of wine imported into the United States, commanding 31 percent of the market share in the first 11 months of 2009. While stalwarts like France floundered due to overpriced bottlings, and New World newcomers from South America and Australia made strides in the value segment, Italian wines continued to capture the attention and imagination of American consumers in 2009", started Mr. Martelli.

His words were supported by the statistics provided by Mrs. De Pasquale, who showed us the recent trends in the US Market. While Italy has suffered a fall of sales of just 2%, French wines consumed in the US dropped by a percentage of 12%. "This is due to a number of reasons, but I believe that the main one lays on the different perception Americans have of Italian and French wines. While the latter are generally considered "expensive wines for special occasions", the former are perceived as an "affordable luxury" to be enjoyed on different occasions, from a family lunch to the celebration of an anniversary".

An example above the rest of the present "revange" of Italian wines on the French competition, is the impressive increase in the consumption of Prosecco in the United States compared to the French Pinot Grigio. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, consumption of Italian sparkling wine grew 14 percent, up to 16.7 million liters from 14.7 million liters the previous year, beating out French sparkling wine as the No. 1 imported sparkling wine by consumption. This growth includes the breadth of the popular sparkling wines coming out of Italy, such as Oltrepò Pavese, Franciacorta, Talento and, of course, Asti Spumante. Meanwhile, consumption of French sparkling wine decreased by 22 percent in the first 11 months of 2009."

As Mr.Finkel added, it is statistically proven that 'experts' prefer Italian wine much more than French or other foreign wines: "It is proven that those who drink more wine generally prefer Italian ones. On the contrary, those who drink more or less occasionally, choose French or South American,  Australian, and Californian. The reason for this is that the first are generally more knowledgeble on the outcome of the different vintages, are more adventurous and tend to know how to differentiate the different between regional wines".

As Mr. Isle underlined, moreover, the sale of Italian wine is further enhanced by its strong bond with Italy's national cuisine. "American are just fond for Italian food, it's the confort food par excellence. In the minds of U.S. consumers, Italian wines have always been intimately linked with Italian recipes, and people do their best to match them". As he explained us to, this phenomenon has helped and continues to support the growth of wine from Italy, boosting its expansion in the retail sector in the country. "Today you can find Italy's regional wines all over the United States and, expecially in the biggest urban areas, more and more restuarants and retailers are specializing their menu and wine lists with regional designations".

Thus, the econonomic crisis has not only challenged the diffusion of Italy's local excellencies, but has actually enhanced it: "The focus on value by the American consumer has brought regions and varietals from Southern Italy to the forefront as well, including wines from Calabria, Apulia, Sicily and Campania. This quest for a better quality/price ratio has led to a more adventurous spirit in American wine consumers in general. And, as Italy has more indigenous grapes than any other country in the world, there is certainly an ever-expanding playing field for this sort of experimentation".

Given the persisting present strength of Italian wines in the US market, do we have any reason to fear a possible challenge of our primacy in the future? According to Mrs. De Pasquale, signs of a possible future recession are already evident when you look at how the sales of more competively priced wines have increased in the last year. "Take Chile and Argentina: in 2009 they have increased their exports by 15% and 32%, respectively. This is because of three different factors. First of all, the USD-Euro Exchange is certainly limiting the sales of Euro-priced Italian wines, favouring in the meantime trade with countries with weaker monetary values. Second, wines from Californians are considered "similar" to Italian wines by a large percentage of the population that tends to prefer it 'in the name of a better quality/price ratio'. Third, the recession caused people to lower their wine budgets, so the people that used to drink a $75 bottle are now down to a $25 bottle".

What can be done to avoid a possible fall in our sales of Italian wines in the future?
Mrs. De Pasquale finally indicated to us three main strategies of action to maintain the high popularity of Italian wines in the US, despite the growth of domestic and foreign competitors. The first relies on the commitment to maintaining the highest possible quality of wines, with a constant improvement in the quality/price ratio; the second consists of significant investments in wine education with the organization of tours and classes; the third is the spread of the passion for Italian wine among new generations, through the use of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.