Wine press review for Monday December 1 – 2025!

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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Daily wine & cellar briefing.

Key points

• The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) confirms its estimate of world production in 2025 at around 232 Mhl (3% compared to 2024) but still ≈-7% below the five-year average , due to repeated climate shocks.
• Italy emerges as a positive exception: production estimated at around 47.4 Mhl (8% vs 2024), with favorable weather conditions across much of the country.
• Italian exports are still showing signs of slowing: in the first eight months of 2025, value recorded -1.9% and volume around -2.9% , with the US market in free fall (-30% in August).
• The global export wine market is contracting: volumes are falling (-3.7% in 1H 2025 vs 1H 2024) and values are slightly down (-2.3%), a sign of an “era of less but better”.
• Prices and inventories: In Italy, increased production combined with high inventories heralds the risk of margin pressure; the average bulk wine price remains around €0.78/L (2.1% year-on-year), but the market remains relatively inactive.
• Innovation: A recent academic study shows how AI, computer vision, and sensor technologies in the vineyard/wine tourism sector are becoming a competitive factor in mature wineries.
• M&A strategy & positioning: The Italian market is seeing more selective deals (premium, tech, export) and less focus on pure volume. Wineries must focus on quality, brand, and channels rather than quantity. (Multiple sources)

M&A Radar

Prices & Harvest – mini box

Production & Harvest

• Italy 2025: estimate ~47.4 Mhl (8% vs 2024); good/excellent quality.
• Risk: High inventories, stagnant consumption = potential margin compression.

Grape / bulk wine prices (Italy)

• Bulk wine: approximately €0.78/L (2.1% y/y) but the market is not very active.
• Grapes in premium areas are showing signs of holding up or growing, while generics and ingredients are showing weakness (updated agricultural sources record drops of up to -10/-20%).
• Implication: select by range, avoid indiscriminate production in overcapacity conditions.

News on Italian wine and oenology.

Italian Wineries

• Cantina di Venosa is investing in wine tourism. Starting in 2027, a new architectural and functional structure will increase visits, direct sales, and business meetings. A €3.4 million investment, including funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
• Cantina Segreta in Eboli (SA), a journey through flavors created by Andrea Nanna. A restaurant created from an ancient cellar, where tradition and creativity blend in the chef’s cuisine.
• Castel de Paolis celebrates 40 years in the Castelli Romani area. Official celebrations with artwork and a calendar of events showcasing the Santarelli family’s winemaking excellence.
• The La Torre winery turns 100. Since 1925, a journey of family and territory, now the fourth generation and certified organic. The heart of the production: the rare Groppello di Mocasina.
• Cantina Valtidone, Tre Bicchieri 2026 for Arvange Metodo Classico Pas Dosé An internationally prestigious recognition for the pure Pinot Noir sparkling wine.
• Celli Winery awarded by Gambero Rosso. The Sangiovese Riserva Bertinoro “Bron&Ruseval” wins the Tre Bicchieri 2026 award: a first for this wine and the only Bertinoro wine on the podium.

Italian Wine

• Prosecco, a superstar in the US, is consolidating its overtaking of Champagne: $531 million, a 178% increase in seven years. It now represents 31% of the value of Italian wine consumption overseas.
• Etna, a region looking to the future. The Etna Wine Consortium and leading companies are focusing on quality, great reds and new whites, with a strong push towards wine tourism.
• Walking among the ungrafted vineyards of Carignano in Sulcis. A slow journey through the sea, mines, and ancestral identities of Sardinia, with Carignano del Sulcis as the protagonist.
• Tre Bicchieri 2026, the best wines of Lombardy. 34 wines awarded by Gambero Rosso, with a section dedicated to rare wines, confirming Lombardy among the leading regions.
• AGIVI’s voices: sustainability and new entrepreneurial visions. Young producers from North to South share an approach to wine that combines environmental and social impact with quality of life.
• Argea: ecodesign and biosymbiosis. The group, founded in 2021, presents its 2024 sustainability report and aims to create a new wine industry model.

Italian Oenology

• The glass makes the difference: Italesse launches the one for Amarone della Valpolicella. The result of the Senses Project, a glass designed with sommeliers, technicians, and oenologists to best enhance the characteristics of the great Veronese red wine.

International

• Spain: Harvest down 10-15% According to the Spanish Wine Federation, 2025 will bring lower quantities but higher quality.
• Giorgio Locatelli’s Locanda collection up for auction (London) Over 400 fine lots up for auction at Bonhams, including vertical tastings of Sassicaia and rare bottles of Barolo Monfortino.

Wine Events

• “Colline ad Arte”: a contemporary art prize in the UNESCO hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. A long-term project that will transform the landscape into an open-air collection.
• “Vini ad Arte” 2025 in Faenza The Romagna wine region has overcome the consequences of the 2023 flood and is restarting with energy.
• “Di…Vino, d’Olio e Dintorni” in Nocera Terinese (CZ) On November 8th, a food and wine trail in the ancient village with wines, oils and typical Calabrian dishes.
• Centenary of the Marino Grape Festival (Rome) A special edition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the historic Castelli Romani festival, famous for its wine fountains.
• “Between Villages and Cellars” in the province of Siena From October 16th to November 27th, six events in Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Montalcino and other Tuscan villages.
• “Cantine e Trattorie in Cantina” in Romagna From October 21st to December 2nd, four evenings of local cuisine and wines, in “theatre season ticket” format.
• Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2025 – Sweet and Fortified Wines Session In Catania, Italy shines with 26 medals, dominated by Sicilian wineries: Ben Ryé 2022, Marsala Lombardo 2011, and Single Barrel di Pellegrino.

This was the wine news for October 3, 2025. We’ll talk to you again tomorrow, again with QUIDQUID – powered by WINEIDEA.IT .