Wine press review for Wednesday, March 25, 2026!

Italian wineries

Leonardo da Vinci Winery is in liquidation: a story spanning over 60 years has come to an end.

A symbolic event for the Tuscan wine cooperative has come to an end. The Ministry of Business and Made in Italy has ordered the compulsory administrative liquidation of the historic Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, founded in 1961. The company's financial situation is now compromised: current assets of approximately €5.5 million, short-term debt of €13.5 million, negative equity, and ongoing litigation. The liquidation process has been entrusted to commissioner Luigi Zingone. A key point: this case confirms how financial strength, governance, and debt control are today just as crucial as the quality of the wine.

Caviro Group inaugurates its dealcoholization plant and presents its low-alcohol Tavernello sparkling wine.

Caviro is accelerating its no- and low-alcohol production with a €1.8 million investment in a new facility in San Felice sul Panaro, in the province of Modena. The 200-square-meter facility can process up to 30,000 liters per day, equivalent to a potential annual production of approximately 9 million bottles. The technology employed aims to reduce alcohol while preserving the wine's aromatic profile and structure. Key point: the Italian cooperative sector is making a tangible entry into the dealcoholization supply chain, a sign that the market is changing more rapidly than many producers realize.

XtraWine launches "Vigne d'Italia": a private label offering professional selection and producer anonymity.

The online wine club XtraWine presents a new private line of 17 labels distributed across four Italian regions: Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, and Alto Adige. The project strengthens the company's positioning as a selector and brand owner, but it brings with it a delicate issue: the producer's identity remains secondary to the commercial strength of the distribution brand. Key point: models are emerging that shift value from the winery to the distributor-brand, with significant implications for margins, recognition, and building relationships with consumers.

OperaWine: Cantina San Michele Appiano debuts among Wine Spectator's "Classics"

The Alto Adige winery has entered OperaWine's "Classics" category with its Sauvignon Sanct Valentin 2016. This recognition consolidates the company's international presence and highlights the consistent quality it has built over the years. Key point: when a winery manages to combine style, identity, and consistency over time, international recognition becomes a real asset for positioning.

Masottina celebrates 80 years with a multi-vintage Prosecco

To celebrate its 80th anniversary, RDO Multivintage Brut is born, a blend of five vintages from 2020 to 2024. This launches the Venetian winery's Heritage Collection and introduces a more experimental approach to Prosecco, inspired by the logic of classic method blends. Key point: innovation within a strong denomination is possible, but it must be done with stylistic rigor and clear brand consistency.

Eleusi, Mattia Binotto's wine debut with the Trentino Chardonnay "Animantica."

Cantina Eleusi's first wine is called Animantica: a 2021 Chardonnay Trentino DOC, approximately 2,300 bottles from a forty-year-old vineyard in Faedo. The project was born with a strong identity and has already attracted attention thanks to Mattia Binotto, known for his Formula 1 career. Key point: new entries in the wine industry can only generate value if accompanied by long-term vision, technical credibility, and territorial authenticity.

Marchesi di Barolo: Barolo Coste di Rose 2022

The Abbona family's 2022 Barolo Coste di Rose stands out for its elegance, freshness, precise tannins, and aromatic complexity. This label confirms the Piedmontese winery's ability to interpret even complex vintages with restraint. Key point: true quality emerges especially when the vintage is challenging.

Flour: Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Mezzadro alla Fontana Riserva 2015

A reserve that chronicles the journey of the Farina family, from sharecroppers to contemporary interpreters of Valpolicella Classica. Limited production, only in the finest vintages, and long aging in barriques, large barrels, and bottle. Key point: family storytelling, when authentic and supported by quality, remains one of Italian wine's strongest assets.

Bubble: Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Le Poiane 2020

Bolla confirms its leading role in Veneto wine with a production facility spanning 312 hectares and 3.7 million bottles. The brand, now part of Gruppo Italiano Vini, continues to operate consistently on international markets. Key point: the strength of a historic brand lies in its ability to remain recognizable even after changes in ownership and scale.

Cantina 366: Canavese Nebbiolo Vine Selection 2022

A lively, fresh, and drinkable Nebbiolo, created in a winery focused primarily on local whites. Careful vinification, light oak, and a balance focused more on tension than power. Key point: even less central appellations can generate interest when they interpret the grape variety with personality and contemporary lightness.

Arianna Occhipinti and the wines that break down stereotypes about the South

Vittoria has a consolidated vision: Southern reds aren't necessarily brawny, but refined, fresh, territorial, and moderately alcohol-rich. Organic farming, spontaneous fermentations, the prevalent use of cement, and no filtration define a consistent and recognizable style. The key point: Southern wine continues to generate the most interesting signals when it stops chasing power and returns to interpreting identity and drinkability.

Italian wine and Italian oenology

Friuli designs the wine of the future: less alcohol and more resilient vineyards.

Alessandro Leon, president of Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo, looks to 2030, focusing on varietal resistance, new markets, and adapting to geopolitical and climate change. A strategic question is on the table: what kind of wine should Friuli produce to remain competitive? Key point: the future of wine depends on the ability to plan today for what the market will demand tomorrow, not simply defending the historical model.

Wine prices are falling: why is it cheaper than beer and spirits?

ISTAT data for January 2026 show a 1.9% drop in wine consumer prices compared to January 2025. Over the same period, spirits and liqueurs fell 0.5%, while beer stabilized. A structural deflationary phase in wine is thus consolidating. Key point: price pressure is no longer an episodic phenomenon, but rather a symptom of a deeper imbalance between supply, positioning, and demand.

Oltrepò: Wine prices rise, but grape values plummet.

According to Unioncamere, production will rise again by 32.6% in 2025 compared to 2024, though still below 2023 levels. Wine is growing, but the price paid to winemakers for their grapes continues to suffer. Key point: when the supply chain becomes polarized, the risk is that industrial recovery will not translate into agricultural income.

Wine & Business: "Healthy" Business Management According to Renzo Cotarella

Renzo Cotarella reiterates that today's competitive winery must coherently integrate planning, finance, agronomy, cellar, people, marketing, and sustainability. Sound management isn't a theory, but a measurable method. The key point: in modern wine, it's not enough to make a good product; the business must be managed as a system.

Regenerative viticulture: initial experiences from the Bayer Crop Science project

The "Regenerate to Grow" project, launched in 2025 and explored in depth at the meeting on March 11, 2026, in San Patrignano, aims to integrate agronomic sustainability, digital support, and biodiversity monitoring. Key point: regenerative viticulture is moving beyond the theoretical stage and beginning to be tested with concrete field applications.

Mountain on the Wine Route: land of noble vines

A regional study dedicated to Montagna sulla Strada del Vino, in Alto Adige, where Pinot Noir, landscape, soil, and microclimate create a highly valuable winemaking identity. Key point: in strong terroirs, the denomination alone isn't enough; the ability to express the place in a distinctive way is increasingly important.

Confused ideas about the price of wine

A reflection on the pricing debate: wine isn't "too expensive" in an absolute sense, but rather its value is what the market is willing to recognize. In a global and hypercompetitive context, there are no artificial shortcuts to price formation. Key point: the real issue isn't the price itself, but the perceived value and the ability to sustain it.

Puglia rediscovers its white grapes

The region is embarking on a strategic rebalancing that pairs structured reds with a new focus on whites, combining the rediscovery of local grape varieties, freshness, and the potential for market repositioning. Key point: Apulian whites can become a concrete lever for renewing the region's image.

ISO certifications and wine: why they are an advantage for wineries

Organizational certifications, often perceived as mere formalities, are being reinterpreted as concrete tools for managing and improving processes. The topic is also addressed through the technical contribution of the Italian Wine Union. Key point: certifications create value when they become corporate governance methods, not just paperwork.

France and Italy invest over 1.3 million euros in alcohol reduction

The DEVIN0 cross-border project, funded by the Interreg VI-A France-Italy ALCOTRA Program, will launch on March 31st in Castagnito. Its focus: innovation, training, and development of alcohol-free de-alcoholization down to 0°C. Key point: de-alcoholization is no longer an experimental niche, but a strategic focus of research and training.

Venetian Prosecco and Radicchio at the Heart of the European Bioeconomy

The TeBiCE project has concluded its work in Legnaro, focusing on opportunities for valorizing agricultural biomass within the framework of a circular economy. Key point: winemaking supply chains will increasingly be judged by their ability to transform waste and byproducts into value.

Prosecco: resilient exports and growing orders for Easter 2026

According to Confindustria Veneto Est, Prosecco is holding up well on international markets and is seeing an estimated 4% increase in orders for Easter 2026. Key point: in a challenging period for Italian wine, Prosecco continues to stand out as a denomination with high commercial elasticity and strong global recognition.

International

The European Union allows Australia to use the Prosecco name on the domestic market.

The new trade agreement between the EU and Australia grants Australian producers the right to use the Prosecco name on the domestic market, while exports under that name must cease within 10 years. A key point: this sets a delicate precedent regarding geographical indications and the protection of the identity of European denominations.

Goodbye wine, Beijing chooses sobriety

China's crackdown on conspicuous alcohol consumption at official events, combined with the economic slowdown, is severely impacting the demand for imported wine. The consequences are being felt from Bordeaux to Australia. Key point: China is no longer the mirror market many producers imagined; today, caution, repositioning, and a political as well as commercial perspective are required.

Which is better: wine or beer? A study on its effects on the heart.

An observational study of over 340,000 British adults, to be presented on March 28 at the American College of Cardiology, suggests possible differences in the cardiovascular impact of low-to-moderate consumption between wine and beer. Key point: this remains a highly sensitive topic, where communication and scientific rigor must be combined to avoid risky simplifications.

Wine events

Wine & Wellness at Tenuta Roletto

The experience that combines a winery tour, outdoor Pilates, and tasting is back. A format that ties together landscape, wellness, and conviviality. Key point: the most engaging wine tourism today is one that builds experiences, not just visits.

I WINE: Marche and Campania on display in Rome

The ninth edition of "IO VINO, Selezione da Vitigno Autoctono" brought to the capital a comparative reading of two regions distinct yet united by a strong viticultural identity. Key point: events dedicated to native grape varieties remain crucial for differentiating the Italian offering.

2026 Wine Proposal at Leopolda

In Florence, the presentation of the 2026 Proposta Vini catalog brought together over 200 exhibitors from Italy and abroad, with masterclasses and tastings focused on understanding the different regions and production styles. Key point: high-quality trade events continue to be strategic venues for selection, networking, and positioning.

DEVIN0: Official launch on March 31st in Castagnito

The presentation event for the Italy-France project on alcohol reduction will be one of the first structured discussions between research, education, and businesses on a topic expected to grow rapidly. Key point: the supply chain is beginning to organize itself culturally, not just technologically.

Thanks for listening. Today's wine press review is brought to you by WINEIDEA.IT.

See you tomorrow.