This year Vinitaly takes place in an extremely delicate historical moment. Which imposes new strategies on producers. As confirmed by Alessandro Mutinelli, president of Ceodi Italian Wine Brands, the first listed private Italian wine group.
The duties of Donald TrumpEurope’s agreements with the South American countries of Mercosurthe decline in consumption in Italy, inflation. This year’s edition of Vinitalythe manifestations of Veronafiere of reference for Italian wine (12-15 April) falls in an extremely delicate and complex moment.
Which forces producers to continually make course corrections, as confirmed in this interview Alessandro Mutinellipresident and CEO of Italian Wine Brands (IWB), the largest listed private Italian wine group. Landed on the stock exchange in the segment Egm since 2015, Italian Wine Brands it is among the very first national private groups in terms of turnover (395.9 million in 2025) and distributes its products in 95 countries around the world with a portfolio of over 70 brands.
How is the wine market in Italy changing? Less quantity, more value?
The wine market in Italy – and more generally in traditionally consuming countries – is going through a structural change, driven by two major directions. The first is the evolution of consumption patterns: we are witnessing a progressive shift from daily to occasional consumption, often independent of the meal.
The phenomenon ofaperitif it is an emblematic example and has a direct impact on the types of products consumed: red wines are decreasing, while they are growing sparkling wines and white wines. In this context, wine increasingly competes with other drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. It is a dynamic that is not new for theItalybut which today is consolidating.
The second direction is of a demographic and cultural nature: the numerical reduction of the younger groups, combined with the growing presence of consumers who, by choice or for religious reasons, avoidalcoholstructurally affects the overall volumes.
How do you react to these changes?
The answer can only be strategic. In Italian Wine Brands we anticipated the trend by concentrating a significant part of our resources on sparkling wines and in particular on Proseccoa segment in which we are market leaders.
At the same time, during 2026 we will start distributing the brand in Italy Rowingdedicated to the channel Horeca and already successfully established in several international markets. Finally, to also intercept a growing demand for alternative products, we launched our first wines at zero alcoholbroadening the scope of consumption and making the offer more inclusive.
In which countries does Italian wine have the greatest growth opportunities today? And how do you judge the issue of duties, between the United States and Mercosur?
We move in a complex global context, in which the effects ofinflation they have not yet been fully absorbed. The resulting erosion of purchasing power, combined with geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts, slows down the propensity to spend on non-essential products, such as wine.
That said, the greatest growth opportunities today come from emerging economies: from Eastern Europe to Africa, up to South-East Asia, markets that show greater dynamism than mature countries. The United States remain a key market – they represent around a quarter of Italian wine exports – but the introduction of new ones duties at 15%compared to a previous almost neutral situation, represents an element of additional pressure.
On the opposite front, the news relating to the Mercosur. In particular, the Brazil it can become one of the emerging markets of greatest interest also for Italian wine, thanks to a combination of economic growth, expansion of the middle class and progressive sophistication of consumption. In this scenario, the strategy of Italian Wine Brands remains consistent: a highly diversified distribution, with a commercial presence in over 90 countries, which allows us to compensate for the critical issues of individual geographical areas and to seize opportunities where they arise.
