Champagne has never been more coveted – from empty cellars and full coffers

Craving champagne? Then you must hurry. The sparkling water is currently in such high demand that in some places the cellars are (almost) empty. Camilla Lunelli from sparkling wine producer Ferrari Trento on the current run on semi-sparkling wine and an industry that still needs to change if it wants to survive.

The story of Giulio Ferrari sounds like a heroic legend. A loner who went out to steal champagne from the French – first ridiculed, then admired. Today Ferrari is considered a pioneer of Italian sparkling wine production. Her family, Mrs. Lunelli, once took over the Ferrari Trento company from him. Be honest: was it really Giulio who brought the Chardonnay grape to Italy?
Yes that is true! Originally, Giulio Ferrari was a nurseryman. He continued to work at this job after he started making sparkling wine. Starting from the vines he brought with him, he managed to spread the Chardonnay grape not only in his own vineyards, but throughout Italy, since he also sold the vines to other producers.
It all started with a few vines. In the meantime, however, Trentino has become Italy’s leading sparkling wine region and Ferrari Trento has developed from an experimental winery to a global player. In 2018, the company achieved a turnover of 100 million euros.
The company has always grown steadily. But from 2015 to now, the growth is exponential. In 2020, the corona pandemic obviously caused slumps, but in 2021 the company was able to fully recover and set a historic record. Measured in bottles, we were able to record an increase from 5.4 million bottles in 2018 to 6.8 million in 2021. And 2022 was also amazing for Ferrari Trento: we had double-digit growth throughout the year. Only now in December is it slowing down as we’ve run out of most labels.
oops Are you sold out?
In fact, every year we know in advance how many Ferrari bottles are available for the market. In 2021 and 2022, the winery deliberately limited the sale of certain labels. For example, the Ferrari Maximum Blanc de Blancs and most Trentodocs from the 2022 vintage are completely sold out. We are aware of the loss of sales. However, our most important long-term goal is to keep quality at a high level. We don’t make any compromises.
The demand for champagne is currently huge. Competitor Moët Hennesy recently reported that it was running out of supplies and that its basement was quickly emptying.
We are experiencing a similar run. I think part of the reason for the high demand is that we’ve all been locked in our homes for so long because of Corona and now that they can be together again people want to party! And sparkling wines, including champagne, are simply the best wines for celebrating and toasting.
However, sales figures were already increasing before the pandemic.
Sparkling wines are becoming more and more popular and are considered food-friendly wines. More and more women, who make up a growing proportion of wine drinkers, also appreciate sparkling wines. They are modern, easy to drink and are increasingly being chosen as an accompaniment to meals, as they can be combined with food in many different ways.

The Ferrari grapes grow in Trento, not far from the company headquarters. They grow at high altitudes, surrounded by mountains. It is an idyllic place that also includes Villa Margon, a 16th-century country estate. But what is produced there is peanuts, measured against the total amount required annually. Where are all the grapes coming from?
Most of the grapes come from around 700 winegrowers in Trentino who have been working closely with us for years. Our vineyards are located in the most populated areas of Trentino, including new areas. Just in the last two years we have planted Maso Prada, a 20 hectare vineyard, in a mountainous area where no wine was previously cultivated. We use our own grapes for the vintage and reserve wines.

700 suppliers? With so many suppliers, how do you guarantee consistently good quality?
In 2014 we created the protocol “Ferrari Trento Winery, for a healthy, sustainable viticulture in the mountains”, which not only defines the requirements for the quality of the grapes, but also sets a very high standard for sustainability measures.

Is this checked or is it just a paper tiger in the end?
A team of eight agronomists work with the winemakers on a daily basis to ensure protocol is followed. They also ensure that high-quality grapes arrive at the winery from the harvest.

The climate crisis is changing viticulture. Winegrowers complain that summers are too hot and too dry. The grapes ripen much earlier. Do you worry about your business as you look to the future?
The climate crisis worries us, like so many others in our industry. Agriculture and those who work in it are the first to be affected by climate change. In recent years we have seen more and more extreme climatic conditions such as sudden changes in temperature and an increased risk of hail and frost. We see it as our duty to try to make a positive contribution. We practice organic farming, with biodiversity in mind. In fact, all of our vineyards are certified bio and biodiversity friendly and our winery is certified carbon neutral.

And what are you doing specifically to make your viticulture fit for the new weather conditions?
The most important measure to adapt our viticulture to the new weather conditions is to get grapes from higher vineyards. We plant new vineyards on the mountain slopes and select the vineyards of external winemakers based on their location.

Camilla Lunelli, co-boss of Ferrari-Trento

Camilla Lunelli, together with Marcello, Matteo and Alessandro, is the third generation Ferrari Trento.

© Ferrari Trento/ Camilla Lunelli

Is anything still growing that high?
While these higher altitude vineyards have lower yields and are often difficult to reach, they produce grapes that match the quality we want in our wines. The Trentodoc grape must have high acidity to guarantee a longer aging period and overall elegance in the glass. So the warmer the weather gets, the higher Ferrari Trento has to climb to produce the perfect grape.

Champagne stands for luxury, for top quality. Sparkling wine, on the other hand, still has supermarket flair. If you could, would you rather write champagne on the bottles?
No, because I’m very proud of our Italian identity, our terroir and everything the winery has achieved over the last 120 years. This is also shown by the incredible range of prizes and awards that Ferrari has received.

From a purely economic point of view, that would still make a huge difference, wouldn’t it?
I am aware that champagne is often seen as the epitome of luxury and with that perception comes a higher price than other sparkling wines in the world of the same quality level. But we are very proud of our value for money.

Apart from the country of origin, what makes champagne different from your Italian sparkling wine?
Both the grapes used in Champagne and Trentodoc – mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – and the production method are the same. The difference between our sparkling wine and French champagne can be traced back to terroir and winemaking style. The grapes for the Ferrari Trentodoc are grown on the foothills of the Trentino mountains, which makes it unique.

In Formula 1, your sparkling wine has already beaten champagne. There, the winners no longer break champagne bottles, but ones from your company…
This has been a dream of ours for a long time and has now been fulfilled. Formula 1 stands for values ​​such as excellence and passion, innovation and looking to the future. Values ​​that we share and in which the company fully recognizes itself. We expect that this partnership will enormously increase the level of awareness of the company.

Ferrari Trento has always had a glamor factor too. There is a photo hanging in your company headquarters that shows Andy Warhol with his entourage at a table. In the foreground is a bottle of your sparkling wine. What’s the story behind the picture?
Ah, we love this story! Andy Warhol drank Ferrari Trento over dinner at El Toulá, a restaurant in Milan, and liked it so much that he drew a bottle of Ferrari on a plate and asked the owner of the restaurant to give the plate to the manufacturer. It is now on display at our headquarters.

source site