Envisioning2035: Italian wine is not a crisis, the value model is changing.

This is the reading that emerged from Envisioning2035 – Wine [R]evolution , the summit promoted by FreedL Group and hosted on Thursday, June 4, at the Terrazza Belvedere of Palazzo Regione Lombardia in Milan: not a defensive snapshot of the sector but a discussion of the conditions necessary to generate value in a more selective scenario. In 2025, global wine exports fell to 33.8 billion euros, with Italy's decline in value by 3.6%. The data presented by Denis Pantini, Head of Nomisma Wine Monitor, also highlights two signs of development: wine tourism, which generated 3.1 billion euros for Italian wineries, and emerging markets, which rose from 15.1% to 19.5% of Italian exports between 2019 and 2025.
Quality remains the prerequisite , but it is no longer the only competitive advantage. The discussion among managers, analysts, entrepreneurs, and experts has highlighted a crucial issue for the future of the sector : the ability of companies to strengthen their financial structure, managerial skills, distribution capabilities, rapid decision-making, positioning control, and understanding new consumers.
" Italian wine is not in crisis : what is in crisis is an old model of conceiving, selling, and describing it," says Edoardo Freddi , CEO of FreedL Group. "With Envisioning2035, we wanted to shift the focus from celebrating the product to building a more modern system: capable of making decisions faster, competing better on international markets, and understanding consumers before their competitors do."
Moderated by Fabio Piccoli , editor-in-chief of Wine Meridian, Envisioning2035 developed the discussion along three main lines. The first concerned business: moving beyond the idea of ​​exports as a promotional activity or trade show participation to develop specific strategies for geographic areas, channels, and consumer clusters. This framework also includes the issues of human capital, data analysis, profitability, and the ability of wineries to redesign themselves as businesses in more selective environments.
The second aspect concerned the consumer . Italian wine no longer competes only with other wines but with new consumption opportunities, spirits, cocktails, premium beers, and more immediate social rituals. The transformation also involves languages: digital, community, e-commerce, podcasts, and artificial intelligence are changing the way wine is discovered, desired, and purchased, especially by the younger generations.
The third axis addressed the issue of identity as an economic lever . Terroir, appellations, and production culture remain central, but they must become more accessible, understandable, and adaptable to different audiences, overcoming established automatisms and making room for new styles and market trends. In this context, wine tourism cannot be limited to hospitality: it must transform into a relationship, commercial conversion, and continuity beyond the cellar visit.
The debate, opened by institutional greetings from Alessandro Beduschi (Councillor for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests of the Lombardy Region) and Francesco Lollobrigida (Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests), was attended by Edoardo Freddi , CEO of FreedL Group, Pierluigi Catello , Executive Manager Food & Wine Industry and Head Hunter of Michael Page, Luca Castagnetti , Chartered Accountant and founder of the Centro Studi Management DiVino of Studio Impresa, Riccardo Cotarella , President of Assoenologi, Lavinia Furlani , President of Wine Meridian, Federico Giotto , CEO of GiottoConsulting, Stevie Kim , Founder of Italian Wine Podcast and Managing Partner of Vinitaly, Francesco Magro , CEO and Co-Founder of Winelivery, Alessandro Mutinelli , President and CEO of Italian Wine Brands, Ettore Nicoletto , Wine Industry Expert, Denis Pantini , Head of Nomisma Wine Monitor, and René Sorrentino , owner of GES Sorrentino.
The key point emerging from the summit is that Italian wine must not renounce its identity but rather make it more competitive . For 2035, the challenge will not be simply to produce quality wines but to build business models capable of generating margins, recognition, an international presence, and relationships with increasingly mobile, discerning, and difficult-to-target consumers.