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April 20 - April 27,2003 |
Toast to Italian Wine
The LCBO shelves flourish with a love of Italy brands
By Susanna Lavazza
Originally Published: 2003-04-06
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Andrew Brandt
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A toast to Italian wine, the traditional kind, that is red and reassuring. It's climbing up the ranking of Ontario's preferred beverages, competing with the best French products. Therefore, let's raise our glasses to the success of Italian products. Since 1997 - an exceptional vintage - Italian wines are on an upward trend. Sales in Ontario have been growing by nine percent so far this year. Ontario gourmets are increasingly appreciative of Italian bottles, and they are ready to fork out as much as $200 for a super-premium (they sell like hot cakes and have become collector's items). Of course, ordinary people more often choose bottles costing around $15 and with good cost / quality ratio. This is confirmed by LCBO Chair and CEO Andrew Brandt, himself a lover of Italy and its grapes. "Having visited the sunbathed vineyards of Siena's Enoteca Pasquale Delina, Tuscany's Biondi Santi e Barbi Estates, Sardinia's Sella and Mosca vineyards, Sicily's Pellegrino, Calabria's Lento, I've seen first hand the care they use in producing their wines. It is not by chance that the only European wines whose sales are increasing come from Italy. All the rest are either losing ground or at best keeping their positions."
This success was favoured by the diffusion of the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) - Name of Origin Controlled - and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) - Name of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed - marks, that enhances the reputation of the products. It also ensures that no gimmicks are attempted halfway from producers to consumers. Mind you, Italian wines are still in third place, with a yearly turnover of $160 million in Ontario, lagging behind the French ($190 million) and the local products of Ontario ($200 million). "Wine sales in general are on the rise," continues Brandt, "the pleasure of drinking wine is spreading; tastes are becoming more sophisticated and people have a growing appreciation for red wines. That's the reason why Italians are doing so well as their black grapes are excellent and the price/quality ratio, especially with imports from Southern Italy, is exceptional."
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