Organic areas under vine are growing steadily and among the leading European producers in terms of organic's weight in the total tripled in 10 years. This is Italy and this is what emerges from VINOBIO, the online platform of data and information for the internationalisation of Made in Italy organic wine developed by Nomisma and promoted by ICE Agenzia and FederBio.

ORGANIC WINE: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ITALY

Organic wine is a phenomenon, at least on the production front, that is entirely European: with 126 thousand hectares of organically grown vines in 2021, Italy holds the record for the incidence of organic vineyard area (21% of the total). However, European competition is fierce, so much so that in the space of a decade organic areas in Italy have grown by +141% (2020 vs 2010) against +148% in Spain and +218% in France.

The role of Italian organic wine on international markets is also significant: 626 million euro will be the value of Italian organic wine exports in 2022 according to Nomisma estimates (+18% compared to 2021) and a weight on total Italian wine exports (organic + conventional) of 8%. As far as the markets covered are concerned, Germany is the main destination market for Italian organic wine (67% of companies indicate it as the first reference market), followed by the Scandinavian countries (61%).  Outside the EU borders, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom take the lead, followed by Canada and Japan. If we then look at consumer interest in organic wines, we can see that the potential demand is truly enormous and involves all the main world markets.

THE ROLE OF MADE IN ITALY ORGANIC WINE IN SCANDINAVIA

Based on data from Systembolaget, the Swedish monopoly that manages the sales of alcoholic beverages, as much as 1/4 of wine sales are organic branded wines, with a value of EUR 600 million in 2021 and an average annual growth rate of +15% from 2014 to 2021. Italy is the absolute leader with a weight on total organic wine sales of 42% in both value and volume.  Italian wine in fact enjoys an excellent reputation in the Scandinavian market and Italy ranks first among the countries producing the highest quality wines according to consumers.

The strong appreciation for Made in Italy wine is also reflected with reference to organic wine: the survey conducted by Nomisma between January and February 2023 on a representative sample of consumers in Sweden and Denmark (18-65 years old) showed that as many as 38% of Scandinavian wine users drink organic wine of Italian origin and more than 20% do so on a weekly basis. In fact, 46% of consumers would be interested in trying a new Italian organic wine, while 35% would be willing to spend a price differential of more than 5% compared to a non-organic Italian wine.

THE ROLE OF MADE IN ITALY ORGANIC WINE IN JAPAN

Japan is the second largest market in Asia in terms of wine consumption (3.4 mln hectolitres in 2022). Among foreign wines, Japanese consumers put French wines in first place, leaving Italy in second place when they have to indicate the countries that produce the highest quality wines. However, a strong potential for Italian organic wine emerges: while it is true that to date almost one in two wine consumers (45% of the total, to be precise) has bought or ordered an Italian wine on at least one occasion in the last year, the share of those who have experienced the organic/Made in Italy wine combination was only 10%. Big room for growth, therefore, for Italian organic wine, which from 1 October 2022 can count on the 'Jas' organic certification, already known to 41% of Japanese wine consumers.

Further info (in Italian) at this LINK https://www.terranuova.it/News/Agricoltura/Vino-bio-in-crescita-costante

Source: Terra Nuova.it