Winding down with a glass of wine with dinner at the end of a long day might seem like a very Italian thing to do. However, it turns out that Americans outrank Italians in terms of wine consumption! The United States is in fact the largest consumer of wines in the world and one of the largest importers of Italian wine.
To learn more about this trend, we spoke to Alexi Cashen, CEO of Elenteny Imports, a company that handles freight shipments, logistics, and back-office compliance for hundreds of U.S. small- and medium-sized importers. Companies use their services to focus on sourcing and sales, while Elenteny handles everything in between. Under Alexi Cashen’s direction, Elenteny Imports has imported over one million cases of wine and spirits annually and has helped over 400 clients grow their sales from coast-to-coast. In addition, Cashen is also the host of a popular podcast featuring entrepreneurs in the alcoholic beverages industry.
She gives insights on a changing industry that shows resilience despite being affected by tariffs and the pandemic.
There was an increase and acceleration of online sales of wines and spirits during the pandemic, is it something that is here to stay?
I hope that it will. Every industry has experienced a boom when it comes to direct-to-consumer and e-commerce. That’s something that the alcoholic industry has been very challenged with because of the three tier system and the regulations, but even for alcohol, there are direct-to-consumer sales increased as much as like 27% in the pandemic, according to Nielson data. There’s definitely an increased interest for consumers to buying more alcohol at home, and to the extent that it falls within the regulations, I don’t see that slowing down, I see that accelerating, and I also think it sort of encourages, if not forces, many retailers to engage in an e-commerce platform and with consumers in different areas. For example, the domestic spirits industry, distillers have really been pushing hard and lobbying for regulatory changes so that they can ship more and more out of state. I think it can be done, and I don’t see the trend slowing down.
Tariffs were another challenge for wine importers. Do you feel optimistic about the new administration? Do you think that things might improve in the coming year?
I certainly hope so. These terrible tariffs are really grossly affecting our industry, but I do remain optimistic. If you follow the normal tariff schedule, February is the next carousel where there’s a commentary period. I’m not optimistic that a Biden administration will have a newly appointed ambassador for the USTR, which is the governing body over these trade issues, so unfortunately, I feel like if there is going to be a change sooner than August of 2021, it’s going to be because of diligent persistence on our industry to really try and reach the Biden administration to make a more executive change, sort of out of turn, as it were.
What are the most popular Italian wines, the evergreens that are always in demand? And what are the upcoming wines that you think the American public is getting interested in?
Italian wine is the number one most voluminous point of origin from which the US imports, so that definitely tells you about the American consumer’s interest in it. I would say, in terms of categories, that the standards, such as Prosecco, Chianti Classico and Barolo are iconic. Increasingly, though, I think the consumers are interested in things that are a bit more esoteric. I think that younger wine drinkers, millennials, are interested in the experience of the place or the educational aspect and element of trying wine from other places, so that’s a positive mark for Italy in terms of just overall customer intrigue for trying new categories of wine. However, unfortunately, I think the pandemic, because of its infiltration on the hospitality of the industry and restaurants, it’s made that momentum sort of decrease and die.
It’s hard to try on your own new wines, when you can’t go to a bar or a restaurant and you talk to somebody.
Exactly. Unfortunately the surge of online sales just means that there isn’t as much handselling and there isn’t a salesperson who’s on the floor standing next to you and giving you different things to try. Or similarly, you’re not at a restaurant, where I might, as a consumer have recognized or tried Barolo before, but a Timorasso? That’s not something that someone tries without the urging of a sommelier or a server. It’s hard for that continued effort to increase the different styles of wine of Italy to take hold here.
There is however a lot of education on wine online, that supports the e-commerce.
I think there is, we would hope that’s the trend. The e-commerce surge might potentially eat into the consumer’s interest and aptitude to learn, but that has been offset by the Instagram live or TV shows on YouTube that are still trying to promote and educate. If those consumers are naturally digesting and consuming information virtually, then hopefully that momentum continues to surge.
You are a woman that is working in the wine sector. Are there more women in the past years that are entering the industry?
I don’t know statistically what percentage of women are entering the wine industry, but in my experience, for the past twenty years, there have always been women in the industry, in all different occupations, whether that’s sales or working in hospitality, working in administrative roles or occupational roles, and there have been really iconic female importers, Becky Wasserman, Martine’s. There have been models, icons, and mentors for me throughout my wine career, which has been wonderful. Of course, I feel the industry, similarly to many of others, is out of balance, in terms of perhaps leadership roles, so to some extent, it’s why I wanted to start my own business. Joining Elenteny, I wanted to take those matters into my own hands, be a leader and to grow a business where we can really support importers and brands and create livelihoods for our employees. I am particularly keen on women’s issues, throughout the sommelier community that’s been very unfortunate this year, with a lot of the issues coming out surrounding MeToo and just the disproportionate abuse that men have expressed in their leadership roles, so I think if there’s any kind of gender conversation I would take issue with, it would be just in the abuse of power, which is because men are traditionally in positions of power in the industry, then unfortunately that abuse falls pretty squarely to them.
Do you feel that there is more interest in sustainable wines?
Well, there must be, because most of my customers are interested in it, and they’re selling lots and lots of wines. Conversely, I feel that I’m very proud that Elenteny Imports is supporting smaller to mid-tier businesses and allowing them to compete by utilizing and outsourcing much of their cost and the cost of licensing and just the overhead to a business like mine, so they can compete, it’s a highly competitive market. I know for a fact that the top 20% of wine sold through the US, the big four distributors across the US, know that their agenda is not in natural wine and fine wine and organic wine. I mean, they have wine because it’s sort of an ends to a means, to sort of running out their portfolio, but obviously, those houses are more focused on spirits and larger brands, so I do think that there is a significant amount of the population who is interested in them, and not just because it’s a fad. People genuinely care more about what they’re putting in their bodies, whether that’s vitamin supplements or the coffee that they’re consuming, or where their produce is coming from. There’s just a general consciousness surrounding sustainability and issues surrounding the global climate crisis, so I think that sort of dovetails and spirals into greater awareness.
The younger generations, in particular, really want to know where their product is coming from.
Exactly, the fact that wine label regulation does not require the transparency of ingredients the way that other label regulations in the US do is astonishing, but I think it’s easier for a consumer to look at a list of ingredients and understand, “Wow, there are clearly chemicals in this one”, versus understanding that the producer is this hip, natural, or organic, or sustainably farmed. It’s hard to know those things unless you really know the producer or someone is teaching you this information because you could be drinking wine from Tuscany and not know the practices and overall ingredients or the integrity behind that wine because it doesn’t say it anywhere, so I think it’s very difficult for American consumers to navigate that.
Do you have a favorite Italian wine?
It is hard to choose. I do love Sangiovese, it is really such a beautiful and pretty and approachable yet complex grape that I’ve always loved.
Do you pair it with anything in particular?
The last time I bought my favorite bottle of Sangiovese I was in Los Angeles, and I think I paired it with a pasta similar to a puttanesca. But then, I can also recall drinking it at Racines in New York City, where I had it with venison, a gamey type of meat.