Verona, 12 September 2025. Italian wine turns its attention to East Asia with the Vinitaly China Roadshow, the travelling promotional format created by Veronafiere in collaboration with ITA – Italian Trade Agency, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, scheduled 15-19 September. Three cities have been selected to host the 8th edition of the event, setting off from Beijing, in the North, on 15 September, before moving on to Wuhan, a hub city in central China (17 September) and finally to Chengdu (19 September): a catchment area of more than 50 million people in central China located just over two thousand kilometres from the capital, and home to two of the cities most visited by Chinese tourists also boasting the highest growth rate for opening new businesses related to catering and entertainment.
Each stage of the Vinitaly wine tour in Italy will involve 31 companies representing the Italian wine industry, joined by the Abruzzo Wine Consortium, as the protagonists of a business agenda with 16 of the main Asian importers already accredited. The Grana Padano Consortium, Rustichella, and long-standing partner De Longhi will also accompany wineries during their trip with the Vinitaly China Roadshow.
“We intend to further consolidate our presence in this Region, " said the President of Veronafiere, Federico Bricolo. "Although strategic, this market - especially in a context dominated by where the imperative of diversification - has not yet expressed its full potential. We are aware that our objectives in terms of positioning Italian wine are still a long way off and that efforts must be intensified to support companies and facilitate their sales penetration.”
The calendar in the three cities involves a series of master classes dedicated to the wine trade starting with “North to heart: Friuli to Tuscany with Frescobaldi”, the inaugural tasting in Beijing guided by the company's Vice President, Stefano Benini, backed up by the focus meeting highlighting iconic Italian wines organized as part of the Taste the difference: quality wines from the heart of Europe project and another dealing with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. In Wuhan (16 September), ITA – Italian Trade Agency will promote a special edition of the “Italian wines & spirits” course. And much more. In fact, 13-19 September Beijing, Wuhan and Chengdu will simultaneously host the Italian Wine Week, the initiative for wine lovers created by Veronafiere and ITA – Italian Trade Agency in collaboration with trendsetting Chinese bistros, bars, wine shops and clubs.
“Following the constantly growing success of previous editions, this year we are involving more than one hundred venues in these three Chinese cities. This "distributed" formula means we can reach consumers directly, sharing not only the quality but also the culture and extraordinary diversity of Italian wines through the tastings of Italian excellence," said Adolfo Rebughini, General Manager of Veronafiere. "Vinitaly is much more than just a trade fair - it is an international platform promoting the uniqueness of Italian winemaking worldwide that facilitates connections with strategic markets such as China, a dynamic market with considerable untapped potential. An approach that further strengthens our mission: to support businesses and spread the culture of Italian wine as a heritage without equal on a global scale.”
After China, Veronafiere's calendar of events promoting Italian wine abroad continues in the United States with the second edition of Vinitaly.USA (Chicago, 5-6 October), which this year also sees the international debut of the wine2wine Vinitaly business forum. November will welcome the Vinitaly Japan Roadshow (Tokyo, 17-18) and Vinitaly @ Wine Vision by Open Balkan (Belgrade, 22-25), while January will see the Vinitaly India Roadshow (Mumbai, 16, and Panaji/Goa, 18).