Vinitaly: tourism and NoLo
Vinitaly’s 58th edition closed with a muted business tone: fewer visitors, a spotlight on wine tourism, and growing interest in no‑ and low‑alcohol products. OperaWine highlighted Italy’s top 150 wines at the curtain‑raiser, Wein.plus flagged wine tourism and NoLo as focal trends, reports say U.S. shipments fell after new duties, and Italy’s wine stocks rose about 5.7% year‑over‑year in March. ( )
Vinitaly closed in Verona with fewer visitors and a subdued trading mood, even as exhibitors pushed wine tourism and lower-alcohol bottles. (magazine.wein.plus) The 58th edition of the fair ran this week in Verona, and Wein.plus reported that business was quieter than many producers had hoped. The same report said wine tourism and no- and low-alcohol, or NoLo, wines drew unusual attention on the show floor. (magazine.wein.plus) NoLo refers to wines with little or no alcohol, a category producers are using to reach drinkers who want wine flavor with less alcohol. Wein.plus said those products stood out alongside tourism offers, with wineries treating cellar visits, tastings and overnight stays as part of the sales pitch. (magazine.wein.plus) The fair opened with OperaWine, the invitation-only tasting organized by Veronafiere and Vinitaly with Wine Spectator. Organizers said the 2026 edition presented 150 Italian wineries selected as standard-bearers for the country’s wine sector. (prnewswire.com) That showcase arrived as export data turned weaker. Federvini said Italian wine exports ended 2025 down 3.6% in value, a loss of nearly €300 million, according to research with Nomisma and TradeLab. (vinetur.com) The United States was the sharpest setback in those figures. Vinetur reported that shipments to the United States fell 12% after tariff changes took effect, and that the drop widened to 34% in the first two months of 2026. (vinetur.com) Stocks in Italian cellars also remained high going into the fair. Vinetur said March 2026 wine inventories were about 5.7% above March 2025 levels, while musts reached 5.3 million hectoliters, up 32.4% from a year earlier. (vinetur.com) Those stock figures came from the March “Cantina Italia” review, which tracks wine held in storage across Italy. Vinetur said wine stocks were lower than in February, down 4.7% month over month, but still high enough to signal abundant supply. (vinetur.com) The mix at Vinitaly reflected that pressure: prestige tastings at the top, softer export numbers in the middle, and a search for new revenue in hospitality and lighter-drinking products. In Verona this week, the fair looked less like a pure trade market and more like a sector trying to widen the ways it sells wine. (prnewswire.com; magazine.wein.plus; vinetur.com; vinetur.com)
