Wine press review of July 14, 2025.

Italian wineries

Stories of returns and new beginnings

• Thomas Conzato, the Breganze winemaker who dreamed of the Loire. As a boy, he picked grapes in exchange for a few bunches to vinify at home. Today, at 32, he's a young, rising producer who believed in the dream of making wine from scratch.
• Antonino Bonfiglio: "I returned to Briga Marina to invest in my homeland." After studying International Relations, Antonino returned to Sicily to lead the family business, Cantine Bonfiglio, focusing on the identity and value of the Messina area.
• Conti Capponi: 500 Years of History in a Glass At Villa Calcinaia, in the heart of Chianti, a new line of wines celebrates the legacy of one of Tuscany's oldest families.

Italian wine and Italian oenology

US tariffs, the perfect storm

• Trump imposes 30% tariffs on Made in Italy products: the wine industry is alarmed . The US president's announcement has shaken the industry. UIV, Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, consortia, and entrepreneurs report devastating impacts on wine exports, especially from Tuscany and the Triveneto region.

"It's almost an embargo," says Frescobaldi. "We need a new export strategy," adds Giovanni Busi (Chianti DOCG Consortium).

• The products most at risk: Chianti, Amarone, Prosecco, and Pecorino. According to Cia-Agricoltori Italiani, many Made in Italy icons could disappear from American shelves. €2 billion in exports are at risk.
• Tariffs and dollar devaluation: a lethal combination. Paolo Mascarino (Federalimentare): "We're asking the EU for structural interventions, not subsidies. Reduce bureaucracy and reform the energy market."
• The hardest-hit regions? Tuscany first and foremost. Tuscan wine exports risk losing over €400 million. Even Trentodoc sparkling wines will have to rethink their international strategies.

Between tradition and innovation

• Recantina is reborn between science and history. A focus on the native grape variety of the Asolo Hills, the focus of an event featuring tastings and scientific reflections, promoted by the Academy of Vine and Wine and the Asolo Montello Consortium.
• Digitalization enters the winery. Traceability technologies, management software, and predictive planning are redesigning grape delivery to the winery. An increasingly strategic competitive advantage.
• Vinoland.com: the fine wine e-commerce site that combines technology and terroir. Featuring collectible bottles and select terroirs, the platform is a reference point for sommeliers, enthusiasts, and restaurateurs.
• Palermo's Vigna del Gallo: urban biodiversity and wine tourism. At the Botanical Garden, the initiative of the Consorzio Vini DOC Sicilia is now one of the most interesting destinations for wine tourists and scholars from around the world.

International enology

• Italy is not in an emergency situation, but caution is needed. Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, speaking at a Slow Food event at the FAO, urged caution: "The data needs to be verified. Other sectors are worse off than wine."
• Green Harvest: Clessidra launches a €200 million fund for agrifood. Clessidra Capital Partners Green Harvest is launched, a fund dedicated to Italian agrifood SMEs. Wine is among the priority sectors for investment and consolidation.
• Wine in Futurist Thought: Umberto Notari's "The Art of Drinking" is back in bookstores. The 1933 work, which champions wine as a "living symbol" against the coldness of modern industrial beverages, has been reprinted.

Wine events

• Cantina Off in Bolsena – Wines and Vinyl, between music and tasting. On July 22nd, a new event to enjoy an immersive experience between wine and soul, jazz, trip hop and funk sounds with DJ Coppola, ColliriØ and live sax.
• Vineyards and Culture in Arbus: the fifth edition on August 2, 2025. A day of food, wine, culture, and local traditions in the splendid setting of Sardinia's Costa Verde, featuring local producers and tastings.
• Italian wine supporting culture: the Guggenheim Intrapresae project. Wine is among the excellences supporting the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and international artistic culture. A union of art, business, and social responsibility.

News stories

• Burglaries in the Prosecco hills: a chef's home in Colfosco was ransacked. Thieves are still active in the Treviso area: thousands of euros were stolen from chef Roberto Ceotto's villa.
• A fire threatens a cellar in the Brindisi area: firefighters prevent further damage. They responded promptly in Tuturano: flames from brushwood reach within a few meters of a farmhouse and a cellar.

Thanks for following today's press review, July 14, 2025, courtesy of QUIDQUID . See you tomorrow!