Chianti-Shiandi on a Promotional Tour of West

One of the important points in my advisories to the producers who are interested in export to India is frequent visits to India. This is not an original idea but practiced by Associations the world over and proven successful. Seventeen producer members of the Consorzio Vino Chianti , for example,  are flying today across the Atlantic to São Paulo in Brazil, before continuing on to the ‘Simply Italian Great Wines U.S. Tour 2018’ first in New York, on October 22, followed by a visit two days later to Las Vegas which is hosting the event for the first time, according to Giovanni Busi, Chairman of the Consortium.

A “walk around tasting” tour dedicated to professionals and the trade press, with specific seminars to promote Chianti docg and the Chianti appellation, followed by interesting B2B meetings between local importers and the participating winemakers, aimed at opening new trade channels and consolidating existing ones, is in the pipeline.

Because of terroir and soil differences and more strict laws of appellation, Chianti Classico docg is generally considered a better wine in quality and is higher priced because of brand recognition and higher costs but this is not to say there are no nuggets in the portfolio of Chianti docg wines. The consortio (consortium) joins hands in November for two events organised in conjunction with Gambero Rosso- the prestigious Italian wine guide that rates Italian wines, awarding one, two or three glasses (‘tre-bicchieri’ is the highest rating for Italian wines) to the quality wines; whereas docg is the highest level in the official hierarchy of Italian wines, 3-glasses is the highest quality awarded to any individual wine.

The Consortio will be present in an institutional area and two different seminars. The first event is in Warsaw on November 14 while the second is in Hamburg on November 16. Seven selected vintage Chianti docg and Chianti Reserve docg each will be presented at these seminars for tasting.

The last stop is in Moscow, Russia, on November 22, as part of the “Gambero Rosso World Tour 2018 - Moscow” event. In addition to the estates which have been awarded three glasses by Gambero Rosso, there will be an area dedicated to Consorzio Vino Chianti and its numerous member estates involved in the event.

On the same date Marco Sabellico, the head of Tasting for Gambero Rosso, who was in India 10 years ago to launch Arora’s Italian Wine Guide 2006-7 and also for a similar tour to India  a few years later at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai and invited me to join him on the dais for the 3-glasses wine presentation, will hold a master-class dedicated to the appellation.

‘We expect a very positive response from Russia, despite the fact that this is a difficult market,’ says Busi, who says ‘we think that the combination of Italian food and wine is a winning formula for a high-potential market made up of “millions” of high-income consumers who come regularly to Italy, and Tuscany in particular and love Made in Italy products in general.’

China an important market being conquered

The consortium continues penetrating the Chinese market by taking a lot of positive steps. One of them was setting up of the Chianti Academy, the first school set up by Consorzio Vino Chianti, thanks to the partnership with the Guangzhou-based company Interwine, leader of the Chinese trade fair market. Interwine has been working with the Consortium on promotion activities in China for several years now. The aim of the Academy is to educate and qualify new experts in the appellation. Four events are scheduled for November- in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

After a very long bureaucratic process, the Chianti docg appellation has been registered in Chinese characters and will be used for labels exported to the Far East. The transliteration has very similar phonetics to the original: it is pronounced Shiandi (sounding very similar to the indianised version of Chianti-Shianti- the colloquial of describing Chianti in general in Hindi).

India overlooked

Unfortunately, Consorzio Vino Chianti has overlooked the Indian market with no participation by the association here, falling into the same trap as Prosecco for not promoting it 10 years ago and losing precious time. Although the short term results could be disappointing and frustrating, Chianti docg has a good market in India because of strong performance by wineries like Piccini, promoted to the hilt by the importers, Prestige Wines and Spirits (a J.V. of Torres and Thapar) or higher branded wines like Ruffino (a Constellation brand imported by Sula till last year, or Frescobaldi which has been exporting its Chianti to India through Brindco. Its wineries from several sub- regions like Rufina, Pontessieve, Colli Senesi, Colli Fiorentini region and names like Poggiotondo by the world’s renowned winemaker Alberto Antonini deserved to be showcased to India.

According to Busi, the growth of Tuscan DOP wines of Italy in China has been over 11.3% whereas the Italian wines in general have managed a mere 3.3% increase.

Chianti docg is promoted also through ‘Buy Wine’ event in Florence every year as well as Chianti Lovers when journalists and wine lovers meet producers in Florence for a day, tasting Chianti wines and attend seminars. The programme is held in Florence in mid February every year and the Chianti Consortium has joined this 8-day Tuscan Tasting event.

Subhash Arora

Tags : Consorzio Vino Chianti, Simply Italian Great Wines U.S. Tour 2018, Giovanni Busi, Chianti Classico docg, Chianti docg, Gambero Rosso, Gambero Rosso World Tour 2018 - Moscow, Marco Sabellico, Chianti Academy, Interwine, Puccini, Prestige Wines, Ruffino, Sula, Frescobaldi, Brindco, Poggiotondo, Alberto Antonini, wines of Italy, Chianti Lovers

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