Privately owned Italian wine group Argea has big plans for the coming years, which could see it become not only one of the most significant players in Italy but worldwide, Sarah Neish discovers. Argea is already well along the path to becoming a force to be reckoned with. Created when Italian wine group Mondodelvino SPA merged with private equity group Clessidra in 2021 to form a new ‘super group’, Argea has been quietly plugging away at its goal of becoming “the leader in Italian wine” (private sector) for the past few years. At the time of the merger Mondodelvino already owned a host of Italian wine brands spanning multiple regions across the country. These include sparkling brands Cuvage and Acquesi (both in Piedmont), Ricossa (which makes Barolo DOCG and Barbera DOC wines), Poderi dal Nespolo 1929 (Romagna), Barone Maltalto (Sicily) and Codici Masserie (Puglia). Argea’s clout was further strengthened when in 2023 it acquired Cantina Zaccagnini, which produces around 3m bottles of wine per year from 300ha of Abruzzo grapes, largely Montepulciano. All that’s missing from the group’s stellar line-up of Italian wine regions, Enrico Gobino, head of corporate communications, tells the drinks business, is Tuscany. Acquisition mission Terroir hunting, in fact, is top of the agenda for Argea in order to grow its stake in Italian wine, and the group is shooting high. “It’s no secret that we’ve been looking in Tuscany,” Gobino tells db. “We hope to have an announcement to share in the latter half of
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine