Vinitaly

Vinitaly is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Veneto calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Veronafiere in Viale del Lavoro 8, in the heart of one of Italy's most distinctive wine areas. The festival has been running since 1967 and reaches its 58th edition in 2026, giving it one of the longer track records among Italian wine events of its kind. The world's largest wine trade fair, held annually at Verona's Fiera since 1967. Over 4,000 exhibitors from across Italy and 30+ countries pour for 100,000+ visitors across four days. Vinitaly is where Italian wine business gets done: importers, distributors, sommeliers, journalists and producers gather across 17 pavilions organised by region. Surrounding events include OperaWine (the eve-of-Vinitaly tasting of Italy's top 150 producers in collaboration with Wine Spectator) and Vinitaly and the City — a public-facing programme in the historic centre of Verona. Italian wine trade fairs are the most efficient way to taste a broad cross-section of producers in a short time. Attendees can expect organised tasting halls grouped by appellation, masterclass programmes with guest speakers, sommelier-led sessions on individual grape varieties, and structured opportunities to meet producers. Most major events are reserved for trade visitors — buyers, importers, sommeliers, journalists, restaurateurs — but include public-facing days or evenings during the run of the event. The events have grown into key fixtures of the international wine industry calendar, with several Italian fairs now drawing buyers from over 60 countries. The event is organised by Veronafiere, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year. Veneto is Italy's largest wine region by volume, producing Prosecco from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene hills (a UNESCO-listed cultural landscape), Amarone della Valpolicella and Ripasso from the appassimento hills above Verona, Soave from the volcanic slopes east of the city, and Bardolino and Lugana from around Lake Garda. The region hosts Vinitaly — the world's largest wine trade fair — every April, and wine tourism here benefits from the proximity of Verona, Venice and Lake Garda. The 2026 edition is scheduled for 12-15 April 2026. Cost details: Trade event; press and trade registration required. Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://www.vinitaly.com/. Visitors are advised to check directly with the organiser for the latest schedule, as Italian festival programmes are sometimes updated close to the event date. Veneto is reached via Venice (Marco Polo airport, water transport from there to the historic centre), Verona, Treviso or Padua. A festival visit combines well with Verona's Roman amphitheatre and Romeo and Juliet sites, the Prosecco hills above Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, the Palladian villas of the Brenta riviera, and the south-Lake Garda towns of Sirmione, Bardolino and Peschiera del Garda. Venetian cuisine — risotto, polenta, baccala mantecato, sarde in saor — pairs well with the regional wines.