34th Mondial des Vins Extrêmes: Heroic viticulture takes center stage at three events in Alto Adige and Catalonia.

In November, the award-winning wines of the 34th Mondial des Vins Extrêmes will be showcased at three events in Italy and Spain. From November 7th to 9th, the Merano WineFestival will host a tasting of the Grand Gold Medal-winning wines, while on Saturday the 7th at 5:30 pm, a dedicated masterclass will focus on heroic viticulture . On Saturday, November 21st , the VINSEUM in Vilafranca del Penedès, Catalonia , will host the official awards ceremony for the 2026 edition of the competition.

The Mondial des Vins Extrêmes , organized by CERVIM – Center for Research, Studies, Safeguarding, Coordination and Promotion of Mountain Viticulture , is the only global wine competition specifically dedicated to wines produced in mountainous, steep, terraced, or island areas. The 2026 edition awarded 84 Grand Gold Medals, 295 Gold Medals, and 20 Special Prizes among the 1,175 wines submitted by 432 wineries from 22 countries.

The labels awarded the Gran Medaglia d'Oro , the highest recognition given to wines that have obtained a score between 93 and 100 points according to the criteria of the OIV – Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin , can be tasted from 7 to 9 November in the Sissi Hall of the Kurhaus , the main location of the Merano WineFestival.

Also in the South Tyrolean town, on Saturday, November 7th, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. , at the Hotel Terme, the masterclass "Heroic Viticulture: When Nature, Climate, and Mankind Exceed Limits" will be held. This masterclass will be led by Monia Zanette , wine selector and wine educator, and Roberto Cipresso , winemaker and wine consultant. Through a tasting of six wines from Alpha Estate and Mikra Thira (Greece), Bodega Comarcal Valle de Güímar and Terre De Vidalba (Spain), Les Crêtes (Italy), and L'Étoile (France), the meeting will explore the relationship between the characteristics of extreme terroirs, climate conditions, and the work of winemakers. Tickets are available on the website of the event, created in 1992 by Helmuth Köcher: https://meranowinefestival.com/masterclasses/ .

This year's awards ceremony will take place in Spain, on Saturday, November 21, in the auditorium on the first floor of the VINSEUM in Vilafranca del Penedès. "The decision to bring the awards ceremony to Catalonia is part of the international relations that CERVIM has built over the years," says Nicola Abbrescia, President of CERVIM . "Heroic viticulture unites even very distant territories, which share production challenges and a wealth of knowledge that must be preserved. Collaborating with institutions and winemaking organizations in other countries allows us to create new opportunities for discussion and to give greater visibility to the work of winemakers, whose commitment contributes to the protection of the landscape and local communities."

The awards ceremony will be accompanied by two days of tasting tables open to the public , with the possibility of tasting the winning wines of the competition: Saturday 21 November from 4.00 pm to 10.00 pm and Sunday 22 November from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm .

The event is organized by CERVIM in collaboration with INCAVI – Institut Català de la Vinya i el Vi , a public body of the Generalitat de Catalunya committed to research, innovation, and promotion of the Catalan wine sector, and with the VINSEUM , a museum dedicated to the history and culture of wine, which will host the event. Supporting the initiative as golden sponsor is Vinolok , a company specializing in the production of glass closures for wine bottles, which has signed a three-year partnership with CERVIM until 2028.