Italy's wines are celebrated for their diversity, elegance, and deep ties to regional heritage. Virgilio Gennaro, Sales Director at FortyFive10 brings this authenticity to the UK market. With over 25 years of experience in wine service, education, and hospitality, Virgilio's approach is rooted in showcasing wines that embody their geographical origins and unique grape varieties. In this interview, he shares insights into how FortyFive10 champions small producers and adapts to an evolving UK wine market.

FortyFive10 emphasizes wines that authentically reflect their geographical origins and traditional grape varieties. What specific qualities or philosophies do you look for when selecting new producers, and how do you ensure their values align with your portfolio’s vision?

We tend to favour growers which stylistically reflect elegance, finesse, and crisp acidity over power, over-ripeness, and concentration. We consider ourselves ambassadors of low intervention in the vineyards and in the cellars. We believe that what is necessary is simply to visit the vineyards, and the cellars and have a frank conversation with our growers over a meal or a glass of their wines, this generally is enough to understand if our ethos is aligned.

Image: Some of the producers working with FortyFive10; Source: FortyFive10

What forms of support or collaboration from suppliers do you find most impactful in driving the success of their wines in the UK? Could you share examples of strategies that have worked particularly well?

We generally organise 2 trade events per year and always involve a different number of growers depending on the event. We also organise regular trade visits for a couple of days over the year with a focus on one grower at a time. However, we consider visiting their estates the best way to share their philosophy with the trade and the most impactful way to create a relationship between the sommelier/buyer and the winemaker/brand.

Image: 2021 DirtyDozenTasting at Glaziers Hall Page. Source: Fortyfive10

What marketing strategies, promotional campaigns, or partnerships have proven most effective for FortyFive10 to introduce new Italian wine brands to UK consumers?

Being a small company, we have to operate in a slightly different way, so when we get a new winery on board we combine it with a visit of the owner/winemaker in the trade and we focus for a couple of days promoting them by organising lunches, dinners, and focused tastings. When possible, we combine it with a visit to the Estates as well. We also try to promote their wine through listings by the glass or group agreements with some of our top clients to give the new agencies visibility on the market.

Image: FortyFive10 at the London Wine Fair, 2022.

The holiday season is crucial for wine sales. What special initiatives or strategies does FortyFive10 have in place to engage customers and maximize sales during this period?

Firstly, we make sure that we are well stocked up on the lines that over the years have proven to be more successful over these busy periods. We also organise a few events inviting decision-makers well ahead of the busy time. However, in the way we operate representing small, family-owned wineries we try not to focus too much on big brands' marketing operations.

The UK wine market is dynamic and ever-changing. What current challenges are you facing, and how is FortyFive10 adapting? On the other hand, what opportunities are you excited about, and how are you planning to capitalize on them?

Our main concern nowadays is the downtrend of wine consumption and the continuous increase in the cost of importing, duty, and wine itself. We continuously have to review our selection, some wines simply stop selling because they have become too expensive and get dropped by the buyers. We constantly look out for new wineries/products that can fit our portfolio, engage with our existing growers to explain our market needs, and try to respectfully manage price increases. We know that quality wines always find a place on the list of London's best restaurants, we just need to actively keep the portfolio exciting, fresh, and focused.

How does your approach differ when working with independent merchants compared to selling to the on-trade sector, including restaurants and bars? How does your role with Giorgio Locatelli Consultancy inform your strategies for the on-trade?

Over the years we have noticed that the approach can be the same, what differs is the managing of the account. We now have 2 separate teams that deal with on/off trade. I personally look after the on-trade together with our colleague Cosimo while Massimiliano looks mainly after the off-trade clients. Massimiliano places particular importance on them because we do not sell directly to the public, so we rely on wine shops/online retailers to promote our wines. Being involved in different companies always gives access to more insight from different businesses and in this case also from different countries, definitely an added value whenever we need to select a new winery or add new lines from a current agency.

Image: Massimiliano Lacobacci - Founder & Director of FortyFive10.

FortyFive10’s portfolio includes Franciacorta, grappa, and eau de vie. How do you position and market these products in the UK, where they might be less familiar to consumers?

Being our focus on the On trade, we luckily do not have this problem. Nowadays, every restaurant we supply is familiar with these products. The Franciacorta Consorzio did and is still doing a great job in promoting its products. For Grappa, eau de vie and others, the issue is not the popularity but more the fact that the consumption of these products is getting lower.

With rising interest in low and no-alcohol wines and increasing demand for sustainable practices, how is FortyFive10 responding to these shifts in consumer preferences?

We are currently not planning to introduce no-alcohol wines in our portfolio, if we were, we would be looking at a Riesling, in our opinion the only grape that so far has reached a satisfactory quality level for non-alcoholic wines. However, we do have some low-alcohol wines but amongst our clientele the demand is minimal. More important to us are the sustainable practices and we are happy to say that almost the entirety of our wineries adopt these practices and are either organic, biodynamic, or organic not certified.

With the continued rise of e-commerce, how has FortyFive10 adapted its sales and marketing strategies to cater to online consumers?

We as a small company cannot compete and do not have the resources to go online. Instead, we support and work with a small number of retailers. We let them represent our products and give them the best, necessary support.

Image: Wines of FortyFive10 at The Nest in Treehouse. Source: FortyFive10

Looking ahead, what are your strategic goals for FortyFive10 in the next five years, and how do you plan to evolve within the ever-changing UK wine market?

We believe that keeping our focus as an Italian specialist combined with a few satellite agencies from Europe will provide sommeliers with enough variety to grow our business. We are also looking to increase our sales team and continuously look at our portfolio in a way that reflects our ethos but also the needs of the market.

Conclusion

Looking ahead, Virgilio Gennaro and FortyFive10 are steadfast in their commitment to authenticity and sustainability. By focusing on Italian specialties and fostering deep connections with producers, they aim to keep their portfolio fresh and relevant in a competitive UK market. With plans to grow their team and refine their offerings, FortyFive10 continues to carve a unique space, bringing the stories of Italy’s regional wines to the forefront of the wine trade.

In conversation with Malvika Patel, Editor and VP, Beverage Trade Network

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