Want to win? Hone your research fundamentals! To beat France, Italy visited four hundred Michelin restaurants, storming the top-tier wine market

Italy really wants to beat France! In 2016, Italian wine production surpassed France's, taking the global top spot. Yet the crown for top-tier wines still sits firmly on France's head, with sales value leading the pack. After chasing volume, Italy now wants to challenge France's status in top-tier wines. But the international market is a battlefield, and only knowing yourself and your enemy gives you any chance of winning. Italy not only analyzes consumer trends but also surveyed 400 Michelin-starred restaurants, searching for the key to open the door at the very top of the pyramid.

Italian wine bounced back from a food safety scandal, with annual output value around NT$380 billion

Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini once said that even after nearly 30 years, the televised image of the chairman of the Barolo wine consortium in tears remains vivid. The 1986 "methanol incident" of adulterated wine not only cost 23 lives but also nearly ruined Italy's wine industry, with output value plunging by 1/4, and unsold shipping containers piling up in port warehouses.

Trini said: "The tears of the Barolo chairman were not just because of the huge economic loss, but because they represented the people who grow grapes and make wine for a living, and the land, culture, and social fabric they depend on, also barely clinging to life."

That crisis became a turning point. After painful reflection, Italian wine was reborn from the ashes. After years of effort, production in 2016 reached 4.8 billion liters, surpassing France's 4.3 billion liters. Italy not only stabilized its domestic market but also gained a firm foothold internationally. Of its 2017 production, 43% was exported, growing by 22% over the past 17 years.

Calculated by output value, the Italian wine industry's revenue in 2017 reached 10.6 billion euros (about NT$380 billion), of which 6 billion was exports. Italy is still not satisfied, admitting it "only knows how to make it, not how to sell it," and wants to break away from competing on price and move upward.