News on Italian wine and oenology.
Italian wineries
- Borgo del Tiglio, a landmark winery hit by landslide and flood (Friuli). In Brazzano, on Mount Quarin, a landslide and flood devastated the historic Borgo del Tiglio winery: 17th-century buildings damaged, historic vineyards compromised, an archive of 10,000 bottles destroyed, and 60,000 bottles from the 2025 vintage trapped underground. The economic damage amounts to several million euros, and recovery times are long, due to the red zone and safety restrictions.
- Oniwines (Oniverse) focuses on Trentodoc “mountain bubbles.” Federico Veronesi (Oniwines, Oniverse group – Calzedonia, Falconeri, Signorvino) describes a counter-current growth strategy in a shrinking market: six wineries in Lazio, Sardinia, Marche, Piedmont, and Veneto, and now the “Ert1050” project in Trentodoc, focusing on territorial identity and wine tourism.
- “Cathedral” Trentodoc Altemasi: Cavit invests €26 million in Ravina. In response to the consumer crisis and competitive pressure, Cavit is investing €26 million in a new winery dedicated to Trentodoc Altemasi . This is a strong signal of the strategic role of mountain sparkling wines in the group’s future growth.
- Rome Wine Award 2025: Lazio takes center stage with Famiglia Cotarella and Cantina Stefanoni. In the Hall of the Temple of Vibia Sabina and Adriano in Rome, the Rome Wine Award 2025 ceremony showcases Lazio’s finest wines. Recognition goes to the Viterbo-based wineries Famiglia Cotarella and Cantina Stefanoni , with the aim of supporting quality, exports, and new entrepreneurship (both young and female).
- The Langhe is firmly established among the world’s elite of “fine wines.” In the 2025 international rankings of top wines and Europe’s best producers, the Langhe has firmly established itself among the world’s elite: among the names cited, Angelo Gaja (Barbaresco) and Giacomo Conterno appear alongside giants such as Egon Müller, Vega Sicilia, Krug, and Château Latour. Italy’s high-end winemaking is consolidating its global status.
- Trevéz, three young people revitalizing old vineyards in Bologna. The Trevéz project was born from the meeting of three young winemakers and agronomists trained in Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and California. Their strategic choice: to lease very old, often abandoned, vineyards and enhance them with careful management. An example of a new urban entrepreneurship that reinterprets the land with technical expertise.
Italian wine and Italian oenology
- Sondrio: €45 million for heroic agriculture and tourism. The Lombardy Region has approved the 2025 Territorial Development Framework Agreement for the province of Sondrio: over €45 million earmarked for projects that combine heroic agriculture, public water management, and tourism development in an entirely mountainous area. Key resources also for terraced vineyards.
- “Lives of Langa and Roero”: Petrini and Tibaldi recount a peasant civilization. The book “Lives of Langa and Roero – Social Transformations of a Peasant Civilization” by Carlo Petrini and Paolo Tibaldi is being presented at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. A journey that unites history, culture, wine, and collective identity, including Savoy courts, farms, the dignity of labor, climate change, sustainable tourism, and the future of local communities.
- Budget and wine: between micro-regulations and the Wine Museum proposal. The package of amendments to the budget includes “micro-regulations” that also affect the sector: from strengthening the structure against blue crabs to the Wine Museum , including protection of the buffalo milk supply chain. These are signs of attention, but also regulatory fragmentation.
- Primitivo “di Manduria” from a nonexistent winery: the K-Tipp case. An investigation by the Swiss monthly K-Tipp exposes the Primitivo di Manduria 1488 DOP “Fratelli Leporetti,” sold in Landi supermarkets: the producer in Puglia doesn’t exist. The label, designed to evoke authenticity and territory, is actually a fictitious one. The central theme: protecting denominations, transparency for consumers, and protecting the image of Italian wine abroad.
- The Return of Autumn Wine: New Wine, Mulled Wine, and Rural Memories. Between San Martino and Christmas, the season of new wine , mulled wine , and cellar traditions returns: innkeepers and families once roamed Cellatica, Botticino, Garda, and Franciacorta to select the wine to keep at home year-round. A tale that intertwines rural memory, local tradition, and modern consumption.
- Restaurants overwhelmed by storms: hospitality and resilience. From Tuscan restaurants like Osteria delle Terme in Massacciuccoli to chef Antonia Klugmann’s appeal in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the restaurant industry reports extensive damage but also impressive gestures of solidarity. Customers and communities shovel mud alongside restaurateurs: wine is once again a symbol of sociality, even in climate emergencies.
- 2025 Harvest: Piedmontese Wine Cooperation Between Quality and Low Yields. The cooperative wineries belonging to Confcooperative Piemonte describe a high-quality 2025 vintage, but with low yields and a complex market. The cooperative model emerges as a tool for resilience: sharing expertise, supporting members, and the ability to transform challenges into opportunities for growth.
- Varvaglione (UIV): More resources for promotion, exports must be protected. Marzia Varvaglione, vice president of the Italian Wine Union , welcomes the inclusion of €100 million per year for the three-year period 2026–2028 for promotion and internationalization activities. With tariffs, the falling dollar, and declining purchasing power, a significant portion of these resources is considered vital to protecting Italian wine exports.
- Marsala nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status along with the wines of the “Sun Belt.” Marsala , a historic Sicilian wine, is nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status along with Jerez, Madeira, Porto, and Samos. The goal is to protect the landscapes, production practices, and traditions associated with the great fortified wines of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, strengthening the cultural and tourism positioning of these regions.
International
- Global sparkling wine exports reach €8.5 billion, with Prosecco the global driving force. According to a Del Ray Analysts of Wine Markets analysis, global sparkling wine exports are worth €8.51 billion as of July 2025 (up 0.4% in volume, down 0.6% in value). The average price is €7.83/liter , the highest among all wine types, although slightly declining. Italy, France, and Spain account for 85% of the value and 75% of the volume; Prosecco is the sparkling wine that has grown the most in recent years, confirming its status as an international phenomenon.
- The decline of the “American wine empire” (Napa and Sonoma) California viticulture is experiencing its most serious crisis since Prohibition: tariffs, excess inventory, changing consumer habits, and a recent, very generous harvest have saturated warehouses. Some Napa and Sonoma winemakers are even forced to uproot vineyards, raising profound questions about the business model of high-end American wine.
- Swiss wine at 2.19 francs: the race to the bottom is crushing producers. At the meeting of the Swiss Farmers’ Union, the scandal erupted over bottles of Dôle and Chasselas selling for less than 3 francs (as low as 2.19). With such low margins, someone in the supply chain is footing the bill, and it’s not large-scale retail trade: producers are denouncing an unsustainable model, squeezed between rising costs and price pressure.
Wine events, culture and tourism
- Alba: Presentation of “Vite di Langa e Roero” (December 10) At the Teatro Sociale G. Busca in Alba , on December 10th at 8:45 pm, Carlo Petrini and Paolo Tibaldi will present their book “Vite di Langa e Roero.” Free admission, an evening dedicated to rural memory and the relationship between history, wine, and community, in a region that is a symbol of Italian winemaking.
- Orte in Cantina: a food and wine trail through the historic village. “Orte in Cantina” takes place between the last Sunday in November and the first in December: an itinerary featuring wine tastings, traditional products, and tours of the historic center. The event blends sensory experience and cultural discovery, transforming the village into a small, scattered wine city.
- Christmas in the Cellar 2025 – Tuglie (Salento) In Tuglie , in the heart of the Ionian Salento area of Gallipoli, “Christmas in the Cellar 2025” kicks off at the Peparussu Winery – House of Traditions: music, food, crafts, solidarity, and popular memories until January 6th. On December 1st, the book “Da quando t’ho trovato” by Don Cosimo Schena will be presented, with a public discussion and free admission.
- AIS Piemonte: 60 Years of the Italian Sommelier Association with Conferences and Tastings. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the AIS, the Piedmontese group is organizing four days of events—until December 1st—including conferences, tastings, and training sessions. The key message: sommeliers are not a “caste,” but a cultural bridge between wine, the region, and the consumer.
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