2022 was a truly favorable year for fine wines from all over the world, but especially for those from Italy; in fact, just think of the Liv-Ex 100 and Liv-Ex Italy 100 indexes – London indexes that have become the main reference for collectors and investors specialized in the wine sector – which closed 2022 respectively with a growth of +6.9 % and +9.2% on 2021. Even better results if we consider a longer time span (last 5 years), in which the Liv-Ex 100 recorded a +34.2% and the Liv-Ex Italy 100 a +46.8%.
However, 2023 was an unpleasant year for fine wines: the sector, in fact, saw a negative trend, linked above all to the decline in prices. The main factors responsible for this trend are undoubtedly inflation; the interest rates that have led people towards new forms of investment; and the euro-dollar exchange rate.
In the past, in the collective imagination, fine wines came almost exclusively from France, but today this category is no longer the exclusive prerogative of the French; The wines of the Bel Paese are also becoming fully established. Italy is one of the world’s leading wine producers and enjoys a global reputation for the quality and variety of its wines, including fine wines.
The Italian regions that lead and are the spokesperson for this category are undoubtedly Tuscany and Piedmont, therefore denominations such as Chianti Classico, Brunello, Bolgheri, Barolo and Barbaresco. However, collectors and buyers of fine wines from all over the world are increasingly fascinated and are also looking for wines from other Italian regions, such as Trentino-Alto Adige, Campania and Sicily; wine-growing areas that are traditionally less linked to the production of fine wines.
Although 2023 was a truly special year for the world of wine, in these first months of 2024 the Italian fine wines market is responding well and promptly: collectors and buyers from all over the world continue their search for fine Piedmontese wines, Tuscan and “alternative”.
We, like Edoardo Freddi International, despite the market difficulties – encountered by all those involved in the sector –, in these first 3 months of the year have recorded positive trends in reference to the fine wines category: +4% in volume and +8 % in value compared to the same period last year.
The main reference markets for our fine wines for the period considered were (in descending order by turnover generated):
- Germany, which recorded growth of +9% in value;
- USA, which recorded growth of +4% in value;
- Switzerland, which recorded growth of +12% in value;
- UK, which recorded growth of +2% in value;
- Japan, which recorded growth of +9% in value.
We have a lot of confidence in fine wines and believe this trend will remain constant. For this reason, we are investing heavily in our partnerships and in recent months we have signed several important collaborations with prestigious Italian wineries.
