How to get in and stay in: Vinitaly 2014 covers Italian wines in the US market

The number of wine consumers in the United States is growing steadily. At the same time, fewer and fewer Europeans are drinking wine. Someone needs to drink all that wine produced, and America, an anomaly in wine drinking countries for the percentage of foreign wine it imports (most countries drink their own juice), is the wine world’s siren call.

Two of the conferences that addressed this at Vinitaly 2014 were “Navigating the Complexities of the US Wine Market: the three-tier system, media relations and more” and “Wine? Italians do it better: Promotion of Italian brands on the American Market.” Two different viewpoints converged on several key points on entering the US market. The most important? Get creative.

The “Complexities of the US Wine Market” were navigated by Alfonso Cevola, importer of wines and author of the blog “On the Wine Trail in Italy;” Cathy Huyghe, wine columnist on Forbes and Food52; Steve Raye, innovative wine and beverage marketer with Brand Action Team; and presented by Jeremy Parzen, author, translator, and blogger of Do Bianchi. “Promotion of Italian brands on the American Market” was led by Roger Nabedian, Senior VP and General Manager of the Premium Wine Division of Gallo Winery, with a study on "Wine Promotional Campaigns in the US" by the IULM University. 

“There is no one answer for the route to the US market,” said Cevola, starting out the discussion after a lively introduction by Jeremy Parzen (whose tagline is "Keeping the world safe for Italian wine"). In other words, a brand should use all their creative juices to find their yellow brick road, and then form a precise plan on how to get there. According to Cevola, many producers voiced their desire to sell wine in the US at Vinitaly, but did not elaborate on how they planned to actually do it. On the contrary, not a few assumed the importers will simply come to them. 

The so-called three-tier system of wine importation in America is complicated. To really simplify it, an importer cannot be a distributor, who cannot be a restaurateur or retailer, who cannot be a distributor: each role excludes the other, a system meant to prevent monopolies. Multiply that by 51, because every state plus a county in Maryland varies. Now imagine speaking another language and trying to figure that out. 

Huyghe agreed, adding, “Producers need to know where in the US they want to be. New York and Chicago are huge markets, but they are saturated. You need to focus, and then focus some more.” Nabedian of Gallo voiced the same, saying that a producer needs to look at the wine’s target – posh bar-hoppers? sophisticated white-tablecloth restaurants? home cooks? – to understand where in the American world they want to sell.

Everyone emphasized the unique edge that a wine or brand needs to have. This is the key that carries a wine in the market, from convincing the importer, the distributor, and finally the consumer to buy their wines. This little gem is not your winery’s history, like the fact you are traditional but have a foot in modernity (Cevola: “I never want to hear that again!”). As Huyghe observed, “What works are producers who really take their time to tell their own story, and Italy has the advantage there,” with its great variety of wines and their unique flavors that are different from the mainstream market.

Raye agreed, saying, “Building a brand is your responsibility. Have a point of difference that makes a difference,” something that Nabedian also mentioned. He said that the wine needs to speak emotionally to the consumer. The story of territory or place will not necessarily inspire a buyer, but it is so often the story the winery tells. The story a producer wants to tell, however, is not always what the consumer wants to hear.

Let's elaborate: everyone has aged their wines in x or y wood for so many months, and the winery has been in the family for 3+ generations, particularly if they are Italian. These are important and interesting facts that need to be available, but not used as the selling point.

Cevola used a lovely example about a certain blue fox. “If I’m tasting your wine and a blue fox comes out of nowhere and I get to feed it from my hand, I’m going to remember your wine and buy a bottle, and tell friends about it afterwards.” It does not matter that the wine has nothing to do with blue foxes. It was a memorable experience, and irreplaceable. Stand out.

Nabedian’s approach to the wine market was systemic, direct, and precise, a tone that befits the world’s largest winery. While he did not cite blue foxes or emphasize the poetic aspect of storytelling, he was clear on one point that is important for all wineries, big or small, Italian or Australian. The label must communicate what the wine is about. In which context would the consumer drink the wine; what audience does it speak to; how does it reflect its price?

Below is a great example from the presentation of two vastly different labels by Gallo. What type of person comes to mind with each?

The Ecco Domani label looks like it belongs in a hip bar; the Da Vinci label speaks clearly about tradition and place. Here, in fact, is one example where telling about territory and tradition works perfectly.

The label and the short-and-sweet story a producer tells is fundamental for the next part of the challenge of the American wine market. “Getting the product in is just the beginning,” said Raye. “The real problem is getting it out – out of the store, out of the restaurant, and in to customers’ hands.” Wrap these fundamentals together to get into the American market, and to stay there: Focus on an audience, pick a market, and build your brand and image with something spicy, new, and completely unique – even if it’s a blue fox.