WINE (CONSORZIO BRUNELLO): WELCOME BRUNELLO STARTS TOMORROW IN NEW YORK SURVEY: TUSCANY, THE WORLD’S BEST-KNOWN WINE REGION BY U.S. CONSUMERS

WINE (CONSORZIO BRUNELLO): WELCOME BRUNELLO STARTS TOMORROW IN NEW YORK
SURVEY: TUSCANY, THE WORLD’S BEST-KNOWN WINE REGION BY U.S. CONSUMERS

(Montalcino - Siena, 22^nd February 2022). Tomorrow marks the start of the U.S. edition of Benvenuto Brunello, organised by the Consorzio del vino Brunello di Montalcino. The appointment for the 2017 and the 2016 Riserva preview of the prince of Tuscan reds is on Fifth Avenue in New York where, at the Midtown Loft & Terrace, over 50 Montalcino producers are going to interface with about 300 operators in the stars and stripes trade. “The goal,” said Fabrizio Bindocci, Chairman of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, “is to consolidate our presence in our topmost end market in the world, with an export share that exceeds 30% of the total. Last year,” he added, “Tuscan reds in the Unites States experienced an unprecedented leap in sales, up 26% in value, with Brunello - and the main regional appellations - as the standard-bearer of Italian style overseas. This is also evidenced by the survey commissioned for the occasion by Wine Intelligence, which ranks Tuscany at the top of the foreign wine territories best known by U.S. consumers”.
According to a heads-up on the Wine Intelligence report, Tuscany - second only to the local Napa Valley - is known by 58% of U.S. consumers, ahead of the “wine regions” of Champagne (51%), Bordeaux (50%), Burgundy (47%) and Sicily (41%). Brunello di Montalcino boasts a popularity of 7%, with an excellent level of customer loyalty in the U.S. clusters identified by the research institute as linked to wine enthusiasts, upper class urban millennials (income above 100 thousand dollars), among whom the degree of knowledge practically doubled (13%). The figure rises significantly in the conversion to purchase: Americans who know Brunello buy it in 30% of cases, and this is one of the highest values ever and - among Italians - second only to Prosecco (31%). Also in this case, it is well ahead of the main French super premium competitors, with shares of around 20%. Generally, according to the report, Italian wine is the best known after Californian wine and on a par with French wine (69%), followed at a distance by Spain (58%) and Australia (43%). At the time of purchase, however, Italy outdistances France owing to the higher consumption by Generation Z (21-24 year-olds) and Millennials (25-39 year-olds) in particular from Miami, New York City and San Francisco. And the Millennials are the age group most inclined to consume Brunello, with ‘Generation Treaters’ (wealthy urban millennials) on the rise and with a spending capacity that exceeds 75 dollars per bottle, consumed especially when eating out, or brought as a gift to dinners with friends.
In addition to Brunello 2017 and the Riserva 2016, the tasting, reserved for wine trade operators during the two days of the event (23-24 February), also features Rosso di Montalcino 2020.
In 2021, Brunello di Montalcino closed the year with over 11 million bottles placed on the market, 37% more than in the previous three years.