Just one year ago in the midst of the pandemic we announced that “Japan called upon us, and we replied”. The Soave Consortium and associate producers confirmed the long-running promotional campaign “Soave by the Glass” created nearly a decade ago by the Alba-based Wellcom agency and SoloItalia, led by Shigeru Hayashi.
Each year, the restaurant or bar which opened the most bottles of Soave wine was awarded a week-long trip for two in Soave. This has allowed us to build a network of friendships and dynamic business relationships between producers, importers and locales. Some of our partners in Japan have shown brilliant initiative. Creative promotional merchandise has helped make Soave truly iconic and has expanded the presence of our wines outside the traditional distribution in Italian restaurants.
Although producers were not able to travel last year, video wine tastings, masterclasses and limited onsite activities were held in Japan. Given the uncertainty of travel this year, the official campaign Soave by the Glass campaign was put on hold. However, the Soave Consortium found the means to send promotional materials to our most trusted partners in Japan who held successful Soave wine events last week. Export to Japan has remained relatively stable through the pandemic and continues to grow in 2021. Thus, events like these keep the spotlight on Soave wines.
At the core of Soave’s ethos is people, building strong and sustainable businesses based on cooperation. The Soave by the Glass campaign remains a positive example of the healthy cooperation that exists even beyond the confines of our denomination.
