Inside Argea’s strategy to span the best of Italy

What does it take to navigate a difficult market? Massimo Romani, CEO of Argea, explains the mix of flexibility and long-term strategy that is helping the company to thrive.

As CEO of Argea, Italy’s leading private wine company for export sales, Massimo Romani knows how to succeed in the global wine market. So, it says a lot that his first comment during our conversation is an admission that the current situation is almost impossible to understand.

“It is a very peculiar moment, not only for the wine industry, but for all the beverage industry, and also the consumer in general,” he explains. “Wars around the globe, tariffs, financial markets fluctuating and changes in the cost of raw materials and energy don’t help a consumer to be free to decide what they want to buy or invest in.”

In practice, this means short-term planning is almost impossible. The key thing, for Romani, has been to continue a long-term strategy of premiumisation while emphasising flexibility and adaptability in the business.

Clear evidence of those strategies can be seen in Argea’s multi-million-euro investments in renowned regions across the country: “Our ambition is to cover all the regions of oenological excellency around the country.”

Although only founded in 2022, Argea has an impressive range of wines, largely through the consolidation of historic properties such as Botter, Mondodelvino and Zaccagnini. The rapid expansion is intended to make the pitch to international buyers even simpler.

“It helps, in this period of uncertainty,” he comments, “to have a full range of products. It’s important to sit in front of a big buyer and say: ‘Feel free to pick up products where you want, but we can be a one-stop shop.’”

Moreover, the 21st century consumer, the end target of any business proposition, also benefits from a broad portfolio.

“The major part is represented and covered by major regions, but I see a lot of curiosity right now because people are so well-informed today,” Romani says. He cites the influence of TV series such as The White Lotus and celebrities like Stanley Tucci as tastemakers that can make stars of unexpected regions. By spanning the country, Argea can respond to emergent trends much more quickly.

New expectations

The importance of trends in the current market means that Argea must look to more than just geographical diversity. It has to attend to the diverse needs of different demographics around the world.

“One of the secrets of Argea is having a clear route in mind but being flexible enough to define that general strategy country by country,” Romani says.

He has spearheaded numerous strategies that attend to the needs of particular nations. When working in the volatile Chinese market, for instance, Argea set up a joint venture to minimise overheads and become as nimble as possible. In the US, Argea has adopted the opposite strategy, acquiring importer WinesU so that it has a permanent presence in its largest market. Just last month, it joined Stronger Together, the social sustainability initiative rooted in the Nordic monopoly programme

Though you may not expect it for a company born of family winemakers, Argea is also moving rapidly in some of the most innovative segments of the wine industry: RTDs and non-alcoholic wine.

These are not yet central to the business proposition. Argea currently sells 400,000 bottles of non-alcoholic wine a year, compared to 165 million bottles overall. Yet Romani is keenly aware of the importance of surfing the zeitgeist in these products which are “more communicated than sold”.

The transition is not easy – it has meant technological innovation and Argea’s teams “needing to speak another language”. Yet Romani notes it has huge growth potential, as well as serving as a gateway into wine for younger consumers.

As a producer with vast experience to draw on, the CEO thinks Argea is ideally placed to ride the category’s wave. Since non-alcoholic wines still have to be made as wines to a high standard, they can put that knowledge to good use, placing it as a point of difference.

“When we choose to enter this market, we have a unique position,” Romani explains.

Safeguarding tradition

When he speaks about the wine trade’s trendiest categories, Romani is aware of the inherent tension between his company’s traditions and the need to innovate. That is perhaps where he shows his colours as a wine lover: although driving sales is vital, he wants to protect an industry grown over millennia.

“We need to consider consumer tastes – we cannot avoid that,” he admits. “The most difficult thing for us is to try to keep the tradition of Italian wine, but at the same time we need to be flexible in meeting the tastes of consumers.”

This sometimes means that a little extra work is required. For instance, growth in sparkling and white wines might suggest growing those categories even further, but he happily remains equally committed to fuller bodied reds, even if that category is relatively static.

And of course, safeguarding tradition can align with consumer preferences. For instance, Argea has invested heavily in sustainability initiatives – from the CEO down, it recognises their value in key markets.

Even if some prominent figures are now debating sustainability’s value, Romani is convinced that sustainable custodianship is the way forward. “Wine is so deeply connected to the land and how it is treated,” he reasons.

Among its recent initiatives, Poderi dal Nespoli has embraced biosymbiotic agriculture, safeguarding biodiversity as part of a bio-district project. Across its estates, there has also been a concerted push to minimise water waste and return water supplies to the local environment safely.

On a more global scale, Argea is committed to decarbonisation through a number of international partnerships. Alongside the continuous reduction of energy consumption across its sites, this includes various initiatives, one of which is the restoration of degraded forests in Ghana through a project run by Miro Forestry.

In fact, flexibility may be the current focus, but it could not be enough without the longer-term commitments and strategies. With a diverse range of wineries, expertise built over decades and a sustainable mindset, Argea has solid foundations. It then just takes a little flexibility to navigate the current market.

Inside Argea’s strategy to span the best of Italy

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