Wine press review for Saturday, April 4, 2026!

Italian wineries

Cantina Valle Isarco celebrates 65 years. The South Tyrolean cooperative is celebrating its 65th anniversary with the launch of new vintages in its Aristos line. Founded in 1961 by 24 families, it now has 135 members who cultivate vineyards between 500 and 1,000 meters above sea level, where viticulture remains largely manual due to the steepness of the terrain.

Italian Wine Brands focuses on premium and large-scale retail. The IWB group is responding to the challenging market environment with a strategy focused on high-end wines and strengthening its supermarket and hospitality channels. Despite US tariffs and slowing consumption, volumes continue to grow and revenues remain stable.

Partesa expands its wine portfolio with five new Italian wineries. The Heineken Group company strengthens its wine offering by introducing five new producers from regions such as Pantelleria, Sardinia, Chianti Classico, and Alto Adige. The goal is to meet the growing HORECA demand for authentic, niche, and local wines.

A family of musicians produces Soave on the Veronese hills. In Roncà, in the heart of the classic Soave area, the Franchetto family combines winemaking tradition and a passion for music to produce one of the most representative white wines of the denomination.

Domini Castellare and its parcel-based production model The Tuscan company founded by Paolo Panerai has built its success on a production model based on research, sustainability, and the valorization of Sangiovese, developed with the contribution of oenologist Emile Peynaud and the support of Italian universities.

In Gallura, a young winemaker is reviving a nearly extinct grape variety. Luca Depperu Sassu, a young Sardinian producer, has been working for years to save and promote a nearly lost local variety, reclaiming abandoned vineyards and rebuilding a new winemaking identity in upper Gallura.

Italian wine and Italian oenology

PIWI Grape Varieties: Significant Agronomic Progress, Still a Uncertain Market. Fungal-resistant varieties drastically reduce vineyard treatments—from around 20 to 4-5 treatments per year—but are still struggling to fully establish themselves commercially and narratively in the wine market.

Robots and artificial intelligence in vineyards. Agricultural robotics is entering the winemaking sector with autonomous systems capable of navigating between rows and learning tasks like pruning. The project stems from the work of the Dynamic Legged Systems laboratory, which developed the HyQ quadruped robot in 2010.

Piedmont experiments with no- and low-alcohol wines from native grape varieties. The Devino project involves Barbera, Dolcetto, Cortese, Moscato, and Brachetto in a cross-border experiment with France and Italy to produce low-alcohol or dealcohol-free wines, responding to climate change and new consumption patterns.

Asti DOCG introduces Rosé. With its publication in the Official Journal, the rosé version, made from Moscato Bianco and Brachetto, has been added to the Asti DOCG regulations. Its official debut is scheduled for the upcoming Vinitaly.

Asti DOCG “Piedmontese Wine of the Year 2026” The Piedmont Region has designated Asti as the symbolic wine of 2026. With 100 million bottles produced and 90% destined for export, it represents the most widespread Piedmontese wine product in the world.

Italian wine: rising costs and declining consumption. Sicilian cooperative wineries are raising new alarm about the sector: rising energy and material costs, climate change, and declining consumption are squeezing the margins of many companies.

New wine consumption habits in Italy. According to an MCO Report survey, men consume wine almost twice as much as women, and among young people, white wine outweighs red wine. Daily alcohol consumption in Italy has dropped from 33.3% in 1999 to 19% in 2023.

International

Made in Italy: exports among the strongest in the world According to a report by the Ministry of Business and the Edison Foundation, Italy remains among the world's leading exporters, with a trade surplus of $122 billion and a 20% growth in foreign investment over the past three years.

Fine wines: signs of recovery in the secondary market. The Liv-Ex market closed the first quarter of 2026 with a slight increase (0.2%). Some Italian labels are among the best-performing, including Bruno Giacosa's Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016 and Masseto 2022.

CeSVin joins the UNESCO wine network The International Centre for Studies on the History of Vine and Wine joins the academic network of the UNESCO Chair “Cultures and Traditions of Wine”, strengthening Italy's presence in international research on viticulture and wine heritage.

Wine events

Vinitaly 2026: Awards and Key Players of Italian Wine Among the event's main awards are the Vinitaly International Award to Lamberto Frescobaldi and Antonio Stopper, the Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Attilio Scienza, and the "100 Years of Excellence" award to Valdo Spumanti and the Bardolino Consortium.

Vin Friularo DOCG Experience at Dominio di Bagnoli On April 18th, Dominio di Bagnoli will host a guided tour and tasting dedicated to Vin Friularo DOCG, with insights into the estate's thousand-year history and the connection between wine and territory.

Visit Cantina 2026 in the Prosecco Hills The Prosecco and Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Hills Wine Route launches its wine tourism calendar with 67 participating wineries and events that will accompany tourists and enthusiasts throughout the season.

Vinitaly and rail access difficulties The temporary suspension of high-speed trains on the Rome-Florence route during the opening days of the fair risks complicating travel to Verona during one of the world's most important wine events.

National Wine Tourism Observatory The new Nomisma report, a preview of the 21st Wine Tourism Observatory Report, will be presented at Vinitaly, highlighting the increasingly strategic role of wine tourism in the competitiveness of Italian wineries.

Wine tourism and food experiences in wine regions: From winery tastings like the one at Cantina Vivallis in Rovereto to tours of restaurants and wineries in Chianti Classico, the range of experiences that integrate wine, cuisine, and the region is growing.

Pizza and Wine Event in Amalfi On April 10th, Carlo Fiamma – Pizza e Cantina will present the book “Calici & Spicchi – Atlas of Pizza and Wine” by Antonella Amodio, dedicated to pairings between pizza and Italian wine varieties.

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See you tomorrow with new news from the wine world.