The report on Wine and Spirits: the challenges of an Italian excellence is the result of a collaboration between the Mediobanca Research area, the SACE Research Department, and Ipsos. Each co-author addresses the world of wines and spirits, offering readings of the industry deriving from their own individual areas of expertise: Ipsos discusses questions such as the size of the companies, consumption levels and habits, whereas Mediobanca deals with the earnings and financial profiles of the leading Italian wine-makers, and SACE analyses the international dimension and growth opportunities available in non-Italian markets.

The backdrop to the discussion is the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the outbreak of the Covid-19. The conditions for obtaining and analysing information on the behaviours of consumers, companies and markets entirely without parallel, in terms of the restrictions in place during lockdown, and also, and indeed especially, the prospects for the “new normal” which we all hope will be achieved very soon. Consumers, companies and international markets are the main points around which the report’s narrative is structured, into four chapters: on the international scenario of the wine sector; the impact of Covid-19 and the prospects emerging from it; and the case of Italy, which also extends into a fourth chapter, containing more indepth analysis of the nation’s leading wine-makers.