“Reducing mark-ups on wines? We already have slim margins.” Paolo Trimani responds to Assoenologi’s appeal

The crisis and the recovery of wine consumption will not come from cutting the prices of wines listed on menus in the out-of-home channel. So believes Paolo Trimani, an experienced wine merchant and keen observer of the wine world, who in the heart of Rome (in central Via di Ripetta) runs one of the oldest wine shops in Italy. In short, no lesson from Assoenologi on wine costs, after the recent appeal to operators through a ten-point manifesto, signed by president Riccardo Cotarella, to propose some anti-crisis recipes for Italian wine. Among these, the exhortation to the Horeca world to avoid excessive mark-ups, in order to encourage an accessible wine experience. Trimani, who in 2021 celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Buccone wine shop, disagrees and pushes back on the president of Assoenologi’s point: “I am surprised that appeals to contain mark-ups are made precisely to operators at the bottom of the supply chain,” he stresses in an interview with the weekly Tre Bicchieri of Gambero Rosso.

Let’s start with the issue of wine price increases in the out-of-home channel, in restaurants and wine shops, and the recent call from Italian oenologists to mitigate prices and meet consumers halfway.

I don’t need an appeal to contain mark-ups and, indeed, I am surprised that it is addressed precisely to operators at the bottom of the supply chain.

Judging from the current debate, it seems you’ve ended up on the list of the guilty parties…

In general, it is easier to make appeals to someone else. I do not deny that the restaurant sector has an important role at the moment, but if we look at the entire chain, from production to sale, then we notice that in reality wine begins in the vineyard. If we were to see what the real invoiced cost is…

So, costs. Give us an example.

If the shelf price of a wine is €122 for the final consumer, we must first of all consider that €22 is VAT. So, within the remaining €100, the weight of the wine product is around €70. My wine shop buys that wine at €70 plus VAT, that is €85. So I ask myself: does the greater profit go to the wine shop or to those upstream in the supply chain?

So, tight margins and little room for manoeuvre, beyond Assoenologi’s appeal.

I know very well, regardless of any appeal, that if I were to sell a wine at a fantasy price, no one would buy it, as soon as the consumer realised that the label had the wrong price. Automatically, I would have trouble getting customers back into my shop or restaurant. And, not least, I would be putting the entire business at risk.

In short, the consumer today has more tools to judge.

It is not only a matter of the merchant’s seriousness. In fact, there are several digital systems, available on smartphones thanks to various apps, that allow customers to compare in any currency a good 90% of the labels on the market. And this happens more and more often. So, if there isn’t a reasonable fluctuation in the wine list price, then the customer shakes their head and simply doesn’t buy it. That’s why I believe that the object of Assoenologi’s appeals should not be so much the attitude of restaurateurs but rather certain types of commercial practices along the wine supply chain.

It is said that the average Horeca mark-up coincides with the producer’s price multiplied by three.

As far as I’m concerned, the bottle that is multiplied three times over its original price is more of a dream than an exception. It can happen when you’ve put aside special vintages of very particular and sought-after wines. In that case, I might ask for figures that have no relation whatsoever to the purchase price. But it is clear that you can’t base a business plan on waiting for such rare and exceptional conditions.

So what scope might there be to reduce prices?

To change the cost structure of wine and offer a better service, I believe that in the last five years an important issue has emerged: that of national distributors.

In what sense?

I should clarify that Trimani buys wines both from producers and from distributors. But it is a fact that the latter are increasingly gaining ground and space in Italy. We, who work more often with national labels, notice that it is increasingly difficult to buy bottles from a wine distributor with list prices under €10. If those same wines were outside the circuit of national distributors, they could cost us not €10 but between €4.50 and €6.50 per bottle. So, if I can pay €10 for a bottle of wine, purchased directly from the wineries, I can ensure that my customer buys a higher-quality wine.

And in restaurants?

In restaurants, the situation is slightly different from that of a wine shop, because wine by the glass includes the aperitif at the bar or table, a restaurant that may have a panoramic view, perhaps even Michelin-starred cuisine. Prices, in this case, follow a different dynamic. But the consumer knows what to expect.

How has customer behaviour changed in recent years?

We don’t have enough data to make precise projections. But I can say that the best customers, the curious and passionate ones, react to the crisis by buying not 3 but 2 bottles, or by coming to us in the wine shop not 3 but 2 times a week. But it must be said that before downgrading the quality of the wines, they prefer to reduce the frequency of purchase. So, we are in a scenario where everyone is looking for lower-priced alternatives. And, from this point of view, Assoenologi knows well that there are no protections for retailers like us, who are in contact with the public. The result is that when wineries decide to sell their wine, if I don’t buy it, some chain of the modern channel will. Therefore, many statements of principle fall flat.

And as Trimani wine shops and wine bars, how are you experiencing this drop in consumption?
The economic situation is, let’s say, challenging. For the Trimani-branded shops, the balance is influenced by the privilege of being in the centre of Rome but also by the limitation that we are extremely specialised and small. I can say that since as far back as 1988 I have experienced several difficult times. And I recall that currently in Italy there is no association that represents the category of specialised and independent outlets like ours. In wine there is one, and the model is that of Fivi.

In your opinion, what are the elements of the Italian wine crisis?
One of the crucial factors in the Italian wine crisis is certainly overproduction. And this has been the case for decades: a span of time in which no one, from politics to business, has wanted or known how to do anything.

How to relaunch the market, if possible?
The great operation needed to resolve this crisis is to bring wine back to the centre of our material culture. That is, to consider it a fundamental part of the diet. We know that ethanol itself is not healthy, but we are prey to a health and safety obsession. So even someone leaving a wine tasting on foot can be seen as a social problem. Road safety, to be clear, must be safeguarded, but since November 2024 something negative has happened with the new Highway Code. In effect, what for years was a slogan – “drink less but drink better” – no longer applies. Because today, drinking less than this is not possible. Let us at least prevent consumption from continuing to fall, since it seems ahistorical to make it rise.

In what way?
My suggestion is to absolutely separate, as if by a moat defended by crocodiles, wine from any other alcoholic product. Wine is agricultural, cultural-value-based, produced mainly by very small realities. Therefore, behind it are families and job and income opportunities that few other agricultural activities can offer.

And the other beverage sectors?
The beer and spirits sector is made up of companies that are much more concentrated.

What do you think of the no-low alcohol segment?
I am not convinced they can be a solution. Those who love wine can only see them as a product bordering on the wine sector. For the rest, it is another trade. Because surplus wine is taken, with costly and invasive operations from the point of view of sustainability, then a bit of makeup is applied and that’s it. But all this has nothing to do with wine. Personally, I do everything not to promote them.

And if a customer asks for them in your wine bars?
We offer other systems. We make, for example, low-alcohol cocktails, using a few centilitres of concentrated gin, with much more tonic water. Flavoured drinks with an acidic base can also be used. I believe the need to reduce alcohol can be addressed in other ways. Certainly, I am not interested in de-alcoholised wines from multinationals.

So, how do we attract new consumers, especially younger ones?
By trying to offer wines that are not only of recognisable quality but can be described in a simple way, without having to illustrate some genealogical tree or who knows what else about a bottle. Using easy descriptive terms, such as fresh, smooth, light, fragrant, structured. Communication needs to change.

Let’s close with another current issue: the idea of mandatory tipping at restaurants.
Instead of mandatory tipping, which would be seen very badly by customers, I think it might be more interesting to explore and implement a form of remuneration linked to the results of employees in the restaurant sector. If I hear about mandatory tipping, I say that first we must link employees’ salaries to quantitative and qualitative parameters, based on verifiable results. Five years ago, tipping in Italy was not possible. Whereas today it seems to have become the solution to plug other gaps.

Paolo Trimani