The video appeal of the Consorzio di Tutela Colline Teramane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo gives voice to 28 wine producers: a choral action with emotional and realistic images
Producers are the true heroes of our times. There is a reality in Abruzzo that has communicated its sense of belonging and the hope they have in a fast and lasting recovery. The goal is to transmit their love to the earth and the vine. The Consortium and the producers of the Teramane Hills was the protagonist of a video appeal with the participation of 28 producers of wineries in the province of Teramo. The Consorzio di Tutela Vini Colline Teramane DOCG, born in 2003, promotes the wine production of the area and in particular of the Colline Teramane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo by bringing together over 40 wineries.
“It is a message also addressed to ourselves, to renew and confirm our sense of community in a moment in which it is easy to feel discouraged, if left alone – declares Enrico Cerulli Irelli, president of the Consortium – It then wants to be a way, light and sober, to explain the condition of the winegrower, who must continue to work in the field, with all the related costs, without any immediate economic return “. However, there is no lack of concerns due to the decline in tourism and wine sales. “We ask the government first of all for clarity in terms of time and procedures. We believe it is now clear that the primary problem for companies, all but especially those in the wine sector, is to have greater liquidity to meet, as I anticipated, the expenses. The cellars of the Teramane Hills are all small, some very small, realities that stand out for the high quality of the products and turn almost exclusively to the HO.RE.CA channel or to wine tourists. – adds the President – and very few of those who sell in large retailers (G.D.O.). For this reason, they were particularly penalized by the total closure. Then there is the problem of inventory management: distilling them would be an economic and “cultural” loss of value, which we cannot and do not want to endure. We have proposed alternative support measures, but we are waiting for the next decree to understand what awaits us “.
Quarantine weighed with important limitations but “Our wine, both white and red, paradoxically had more time to mature. From the point of view of the seal of the products there are no problems. Of course, to answer the true sense of the question, or if from a commercial point of view it will be very difficult to recover the lost sales – continues Cerulli Irelli – we hope in keeping prices: if speculative dynamics were triggered for many of us it will be a ruin, because not we have the strength to endure further difficulties ”. The wineries of the Consortium know that there will be difficulties with sales and exports and the revenues from tourism will also be affected. In this sense, the video is a mirror in which each on the side forms a single figure. “Soon the world will start again and people will still want to intertwine their emotions with our wines: you just need to be confident, to see the light under the downpour that bathes us today – says the President of the Consortium – Personally I dream of a future in which the companies of the Teramo hills are able to create synergies to face common challenges: I think of common promotional policies, but also commercial or production policies, to lower costs and respond to market requests that are often impossible to satisfy for a company alone. As for tourism, we have a great opportunity: if there is tourism, it will be characterized by the search for healthy environments, where you can spend time in the safety of your health and in a sustainable way. Where to look for these things if not in our countryside or in the wonderful internal areas of the province of Teramo and Abruzzo in general? “.
After the lockdown, the work of the producers and the Consortium will continue with more energy. “We need to be creative and generous, think of ourselves as part of a community, keep up to date on available technologies and new telematic tools. We will travel much less, but we will have to keep in close contact with our contacts around the world. Ours is a work based on human relationship, on empathy ”.
