Verona, 18 February 2026 – “Italian wine will certainly seize the new growth opportunities arising from international agreements and beyond. On the horizon, new destinations are opening up that promise to increase our market shares, from the Mercosur countries to India, already included in Vinitaly’s map.” This was stated by the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, opening the event “Italian Wine Teams Up with Olympic Spirit – Italian Fine Wines: Identity that Creates Value, Vision that Opens the World”, held today at Casa Italia at the Triennale di Milano. “Growth that the Government is supporting by strengthening tools, resources and missions, such as the one scheduled in the coming months in the Stan countries of South-Central Asia.”
“A roadmap that will also involve Vinitaly,” commented Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere, speaking during the LT Wine&Food Advisory talk. “We are working to broaden our field of action to ensure increasingly effective promotion for Italian companies and more targeted incoming programmes for the exhibition in Verona. The mission with the Ministry of Agriculture and ITA–Italian Trade Agency will allow us to explore opportunities and trends in a high-potential area that includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Furthermore,” Bricolo continued, “we are strengthening our established presence in China, Brazil and the United States, with Vinitaly.USA scheduled in New York next October. Within the development plan for the promotion of Italian wine, together with our institutional partners, we are also looking at Canada and working towards its inclusion in Vinitaly’s international calendar as early as the first half of 2026.”
The event “Italian Fine Wines: Identity that Creates Value, Vision that Opens the World”, organised by LT Wine&Food Advisory and moderated by Luciano Ferraro, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Corriere della Sera, featured contributions from Giovanni Malagò, President of the Milano Cortina Foundation; Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty; and Matteo Zoppas, President of ITA–Italian Trade Agency. During the event, case histories were presented by Francesco Cambria (Cottanera), Antonio Capaldo (Tenute Capaldo), Roberta Ceretto (Ceretto), Roberta Corrà (Gruppo Italiano Vini), Marcello Lunelli (Gruppo Lunelli), Federico Veronesi (Oniwines) and Renzo Rosso, who shared his perspective on the dialogue between the fashion and wine industries.