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ITALIAN SPIRITS AND LIQUEURS ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF WORLD DINNER TABLES
Rome (Ign) - The production of alcoholic drinks takes place at the end of a long fermentation process, followed by the final distillation which, through an evaporation and condensation process, allows the most alcoholic part to be extracted. There are two main ingredients needed for making high quality alcoholic drinks: raw materials and tradition. And neither of these is missing in Italy with its great wine culture and hence, the best pomaces and musts to be used for distilling grappa, eau de vie and numerous other liqueurs. Italian wine production is also among the top in the world, both in terms of quantity and quality, alongside its eternal rival, France, and followed at a distance by Spain and the new emerging producers: the USA, Australia and Chile. The following essential data provides an idea of the dimensions of the sector: € 8 billion turnover and a tangible net worth, referring to the entire vinicultural area, including the companies that work in the production of liqueurs and spirits, of over € 50 billion.
The importance of the Italian vinicultural sector is naturally also reflected on the foreign markets: according to Istat data, the Italian pomace and must exports in 2005 almost reached € 300 million (272,547,424 ), a 7.6% increase compared to the previous year; liqueurs and other alcoholic drinks produced € 103 million in sales abroad and € 180 million from sales of eau de vie. Hence, the Italian companies that produce alcoholic drinks create a growing part of turnover abroad. An emblematic case of successful Italian spirits is grappa, the flagship spirit, which maintains its force on the market thanks to the producing companies' great experience, tradition and care, most of whom are small and medium-sized and closely linked to their roots. This geographical and historical continuity has allowed Italian grappa to build up a solid niche on the international markets over the years, which has now taken on the considerable dimension of 40 million bottles a year. Grappa is produced in almost all the Italian regions, as it derives totally and directly from pomace, hence taking on the specific organoleptic characteristics of the vine from which it is distilled and which derive from the cultivation traditions in the production area, the territory and the craft traditions.
The fragmentation and small dimensions of the companies in the sector do not allow the traditional markets to be considered individually, hence mass promotional activity is required. But this limit can be positively overcome through the activity of the consortiums, who unite numerous small companies also operating in other compartments of the food and agriculture industry. But a determining factor for the success of Italian spirits, was the strongly innovative action, developed without abandoning tradition, which allowed renewed products to be offered, especially thanks to the choice to produce grappa deriving from just one type of grape. This was a strategy that has allowed the Italian companies to enter into new markets, rapidly becoming leaders.
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