Wine press review for Sunday, April 19, 2026!

Italian wineries

Zorzettig relaunches with the Friulano "Tenaci 2025." The Friulian winery offers a contemporary interpretation of the Colli Orientali with an identity-defining wine, born from meticulous viticulture and essential winemaking. Annalisa Zorzettig's entrepreneurial vision, focused on building value over time, is also at the heart of this wine.

Cantina Due Palme accelerates its focus on low-alcohol wines and new experiments. The Salento-based cooperative is presenting itself at Vinitaly with a strategy in line with market developments: greater attention to low-alcohol wines and a focus on Negroamaro vinified as a white wine, which has become one of the company's flagship wines.

Casa Grazia, a sparkling rosé from Sicily that speaks of its territory and biodiversity. Euphorya Rosé Frappato Brut confirms the growth of the Gela winery, an organic winery built around a unique terroir between the sea, lake, and nature reserve, capable of giving its wines a strong identity.

Agri Solaris transforms the myth of Sannio into a territorial wine project. With Bon'Vento Rosato IGT Beneventano, the company constructs a narrative that unites Aglianico, local culture, and historical symbols of the area, offering a contemporary interpretation of the Samnite identity.

Vigne Marina Coppi is among the leading producers of Timorasso wines under €20. In the Tortona Hills, the company led by Francesco Bellocchio consolidates its position among the producers symbolizing the revival of great Piedmontese white wines, with a recognizable and competitive offering.

Strongoli takes its first steps toward an independent DOC . The Promotion Committee for the future Strongoli DOC was presented at Vinitaly. This represents a strategic step toward transforming the local winemaking heritage into official recognition and territorial positioning.

Italian wine and Italian oenology

Exports drop sharply in January 2026: -18.7% in value. The year opens on an uptrend for Italian wine: exports total €470.4 million, penalized above all by the US market, where the comparison with early purchases in 2025 due to the effect of tariffs weighs heavily.

Italian wine looks to Asia for a new leap in quality. Restaurants remain the key channel for premium wines, but the next step is pairing them with the great cuisines of Asia. This is the direction taken by the editorial project dedicated to the encounter between great Italian crus and the cuisines of India, China, and Japan.

The wine crisis is also fueled by communication methods stuck in the 1990s. Among the factors driving the slowdown in consumption is a language perceived as outdated, distant, and difficult to understand, especially for younger generations. Communication is once again central to the sector's revival.

"Millesimato" doesn't automatically mean better. The term continues to evoke superior quality, but simply indicates a sparkling wine made from a single vintage. The article invites us to distinguish between marketing hype and true winemaking value.

Friuli Venezia Giulia's indigenous whites demonstrate their longevity. A masterclass at Vinitaly highlighted the evolutionary capacity of Friulian whites, helping to overcome the prejudice that Italian whites have little aging potential.

The Verdicchio Riserva dei Castelli di Jesi has long been confirmed as a great white wine. The tasting dedicated to the Riserva wines of the Marche appellation reaffirms the depth, longevity, and stylistic richness of one of Italy's most authoritative white wines.

Bianchello del Metauro conquers Vinitaly with 5 Star Wines. Il Guerriero del Mare receives 94 points, the highest score among the Marche wines in the competition. This result strengthens the international credibility of the appellation and its territory.

In Friuli Venezia Giulia, Prosecco, Cabernet, and Ribolla dominate large-scale retail trade. The Circana study confirms purchasing trends in large-scale retail trade: Prosecco remains the leader, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Ribolla are doing well, a sign of demand that rewards both notoriety and local identity.

Cold and sudden temperature changes are slowing down the growing season in the vineyards. Technicians at the Fojanini Foundation are reporting an anomalous agricultural year in 2026, with temperatures lower than in recent years and slower and more irregular plant development.

Energy efficiency: invisible costs become a strategic issue for wineries . The weight of energy consumption is growing in the sector's budgets. This reflection, supported by the ENEA guide, pushes for more efficient and sustainable management of production facilities.

CAP and Agea: 2025 balances rescheduled. With a new circular, Agea has redefined the unit amounts of the 2025 CAP balances, just a few months before the June 30 deadline for completing payments to farmers.

2026 Agricultural Bonus: Up to €794 per hectare for olive groves. The CAP 2023-2027 aid schedule continues, with significant support for crops that meet European standards on biodiversity, landscape, and sustainability.

International

The culture of vines and wine towards a possible UNESCO candidacy. A far-reaching perspective emerges from Vinitaly: recognizing the culture of vines and wine as universal heritage, with the institutional support of the OIV and the attention of European institutions.

UNESCO World Heritage Site, yes, but new certification criteria are needed . Alongside the enthusiasm for the proposed recognition, a debate is underway on how to define appropriate parameters to certify a millenary, widespread, and transversal culture like that of wine.

Wine events

Vinitaly relaunches the cultural centrality of wine. The Verona fair confirms its position as a place of strategic vision, not only commercial, by hosting the debate on the UNESCO candidacy of the culture of vines and wine in the presence of Christophe Hansen and John Barker.

"Room with a Vineyard" brings back the spotlight on winery hospitality. With the warmer months, the guide to wineries with rooms is back in fashion, an increasingly attractive option for slow, experiential wine tourism focused on car-free tasting.

Agritourism, the sector is changing and seeking a new definition. The evolution of rural tourism, increasingly refined and less tied to the stereotypes of the past, opens a reflection on the language and very identity of Italian agritourism.

Piedmont's organic vineyards showcased at Vinitaly. The Observatory of Piedmont's "natural" wines has captured significant growth: over 200 wineries and nearly quadrupled their surface area in ten years.

The Mediterranean in a glass: a tasting that unites wine, culture, and landscape. At Vinitaly, a masterclass transformed the tasting into a sensory narrative of the Mediterranean, focusing on identity, light, wind, and the relationship between territories.

Romagna on the move with "Bella Brigata." Six hands, six wineries, and three menus to tell the story of Romagna through food and wine. An innovative format that brings together young restaurant talents and top-notch winemakers.

The Giro del Nizza confirms the value of a growing appellation. Today, the event, held among wineries and producers of Barbera Nizza DOCG, returns: 53 companies are involved to give a close-up look at a young appellation that already has a strong identity.

Campania Stories 2026 opens to the international press From April 23 to 27, Campania will present its new vintages to the national and international press, with an opening at the Royal Palace of Caserta and a focus on the regions and regional denominations.

Wine tourism in the Marche region: great potential, but strong leadership is needed. Producers are calling for a more recognizable brand abroad and a shared strategy to transform the heritage of vineyards, landscape, and hospitality into a competitive advantage.

Amarone, the challenge today is to make it contemporary The masterclass of the Historic Families at Vinitaly showed how the future of Amarone no longer passes through the explanation of the product, but through its current interpretation in the dining room and at the table.

Strategic summary of the day

Today's review paints a very clear picture: Italian wine remains strong in terms of identity, territories, and quality, but is called upon to enter a new phase. Four dominant themes are evident: rethinking its language , promoting international culture , pressure on export markets , and strengthening wine tourism as a lever for value . The underlying message is clear: the sector cannot simply defend what has been, but must build a more contemporary, accessible, and global narrative and offering.