Why is it important for wine companies to communicate their success?

It enhances brand reputation, promotes sector credibility, and highlights strategic competence.

What should wineries communicate besides product information?

Governance quality, strategic vision, market adaptation, and the real reasons behind their success.

Is sharing success stories useful for other wine businesses?

Yes, it fosters positive emulation and strengthens the entire wine industry.

How can wine companies avoid appearing arrogant when sharing success?

By focusing on transparency, strategy, and leadership, not just numbers or awards.

Why is now the right time to communicate success?

Because the current market is more complex and requires clear, strong positioning.

Why Wine Companies Should Communicate Success Now

In today’s uncertain climate, successful wine companies must overcome their usual silence and share the reasons behind their positive results. Doing so strengthens brand credibility, inspires the sector, and highlights the importance of governance and strategy. It’s time for transparency and leadership to guide the wine industry’s evolution.

Wine companies are among the most secretive in the Italian economic landscape. They communicate extensively about their products but choose silence when it comes to everything else.

While in the past this silence may have been somewhat justified by a booming market, which was growing at double digits annually, today—now that growth has slowed significantly—it becomes essential to enhance a brand’s reputation (and more, as I’ll explain later) by effectively communicating one’s success and its underlying reasons.

In this particularly complex phase, I regularly come across companies that manage to perform well in the market, with growth that may not match previous years, but still reflects good health and promising outlooks.

I always encourage the entrepreneurs and managers of these “positive” businesses to share their positivity, to explain the reasons behind their current success.

The aim is not to turn them into superficial “show-offs”, but to strengthen and consolidate their reputation, making it more authoritative and less vulnerable in the eyes of market competitors.

It is increasingly clear that a company’s brand value today is not solely linked to the market success of its wines or critical acclaim, but also to its ability to demonstrate that such solidity stems from competent governance, a clear and defined vision, and forward-looking strategies.

Just ask insiders if they truly know the reasons behind one company’s success over another, and you’ll find that answers are often vague and superficial.

It’s no coincidence that, despite often being seen as a flagship of Italian agri-food, the wine sector appears more fragile than it actually is. Yes, it’s still made up largely of fragmented, family-run businesses with underdeveloped managerial structures, but it’s a sector that has achieved impressive growth over the last forty years.

It would be unfair not to highlight the efforts of many Italian wineries in becoming competitive and appealing on global markets, even if part of their growth was driven by highly favorable—and perhaps unrepeatable—market conditions.

Now is the time to testify more clearly to the reasons behind this success, and not just appear as “lucky” businesses benefitting from winning denominations or lucky past intuitions.

The current market difficulties show us daily that the “game” today is much more complex than it was even in the recent past.

That’s why it’s essential for companies that are ready to face this new competitive arena to say it openly, without fear or concealment.

Let’s be clear: communicating your “well-being” does not mean throwing out a few numbers, like turnover, export percentage, bottles produced or awards received; it means offering a market vision and highlighting what has made your company successful.

It would be great if this came from a broader range of companies, not just the usual handful that are closely monitored.

Even independent winemakers should raise their voices—not only to talk about their struggles, but sometimes to share successful stories as well.

A more transparent narrative of our sector would not only make it more credible and authoritative, but would also trigger a positive emulation effect among other companies.

It is positive role models, brand drivers, visionary and forward-thinking companies that drive all economic sectors forward.

Let’s be brave! Telling stories of failure is certainly hard—but valuable; yet celebrating victories and explaining their reasons should become second nature for our wine businesses.