7:09 AM MYT ROME, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) From a business perspective, last year is one that most in the Italian wine business would be happy to forget. But initial figures show some unlikely strong spots helped prevent the final tally from being even weaker. Overall, wine exports were down by 4.6 percent last year compared to figures from 2019, according to estimates from Wine Monitor, produced by the consultancy Nomisma. Final figures for domestic wine sales in 2020 are not yet available, but while partial data shows there was an increase in direct wine sales to individuals, it was not nearly enough to compensate for the lack of tourism and severe limits in operations for restaurants and bars due to coronavirus health rules.