Italy - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Wanderlust Wine appointed exclusive UK importer for Sardinian winery Mesa

Published: 10 July, 2026

Cantina Mesa – a winery based in the Sulcis region of south-west Sardinia – has made Wanderlust Wine its exclusive UK importer.

Assovini Sicilia introduces new generation of leadership headed by Gabriella Favara

Published: 08 July, 2026

Marsala native Gabriella Favara has been appointed as the president of Assovini Sicilia by the trade organisation’s newly elected board of directors.

Nizza DOCG consortium officially recognised by Italian government

Published: 01 July, 2026

The Consorzio del Nizza DOCG was officially recognised last week (22 June) by the Italian government’s ministry of agriculture, food sovereignty and forestry.

Etruscan grape seeds shed light on pre-Chianti era

Published: 29 June, 2026

Grape seeds found in the depths of Etruscan wells in the woodlands of Badia a Coltibuono have been described as “reshaping the history of viticulture in the Chianti area”, according to the estate.

Italy report: Sicily, from Etna to oenotourism

Published: 22 June, 2026

In the same week that Italy’s parliament signed off on funding for the notorious Strait of Messina bridge to connect Sicily to the mainland, the island played host to the 22nd edition of Sicilia En Primeur, connecting the world with Sicily’s contemporary wine scene in a different way. Over 1,000 wines from 56 wineries were present for the event, held in Palermo in May with the headline Taste the Island, Live the Story.

Italy report: Prosecco’s new horizon

Published: 19 June, 2026

After many years of enjoying meteoric global success, Prosecco now finds itself in a double bind. Slowing sales in key mature markets, increased competition from rival categories, and sustained pricing pressures have sparked a debate about the need to diversify its identity to secure long-term relevance. Yet for every stakeholder who advocates a broadening of positioning through mixology and new drinking occasions, there are others who insist the category’s future lies in terroir expression, gastronomic suitability and drier styles. It’s an existential argument over the most fundamental question facing the category today: what exactly does Prosecco want to become?

Top Selection becomes UK importer for Borgogno

Published: 13 May, 2026

Top Selection Wines has been appointed the exclusive UK importer of Giacomo Borgogno & Fili, one of the oldest wineries in the Barolo region.

Armit among those awarded at Italian wine trade fair

Published: 08 May, 2026

Importer Armit Wines was among the businesses to receive accolades at the recent first edition of the Wines Experience Market Shapers Awards.

Garda drives innovation with Crémant and lower alcohol wines

Published: 27 April, 2026

Northern Italy’s Garda DOC is best known as an ‘umbrella’ appellation, overlapping territories such as Lugana, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Soave and six others besides, offering up a medley of varieties and styles from the surrounding Veneto vineyards. Created in 1996, it offers greater flexibility to producers than the historic regional DOCs and, as such, it is on the march, pushing two new styles of wine that the Consorzio believes will be an asset to the collective region.

Pasqua unveils result of Washington collaboration at Vinitaly

Published: 17 April, 2026

Prominent Veneto producer Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine has officially launched its new QuattroMani Pinot Noir, resulting from an ongoing collaboration with feted Washington winemaker Charles Smith of House of Smith.

Castiglion del Bosco appoints winemaker Giuseppe Gorelli

Published: 30 March, 2026

Brunello di Montalcino producer Castiglion del Bosco has appointed Giuseppe Gorelli as its new winemaker.

Morellino di Scansano DOCG introduces Superiore designation

Published: 04 March, 2026

The Superiore designation for Morellino di Scansano DOCG has been officially published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, fulfilling the production regulations approved by the Members’ Assembly in 2025.

Bibendum: Sustainability focus as two sparkling producers added

Published: 06 February, 2026

Wine distributor Bibendum has unveiled two new sparkling producers on its portfolio. Grower champagne house Domaine Alexandre Bonnet joins alongside Prosecco estate Fidora.

Hallgarten begins year with two Italian portfolio additions

Published: 07 January, 2026

Wine importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines has bolstered its Italian portfolio by adding both Chianti Classico and Piedmont producers – Querciabella and Elio Grasso, respectively.

Hallgarten onboards historic Gavi producer La Scolca

Published: 24 October, 2025

Wine importer Hallgarten & Novum Wine has added Piedmontese producer La Scolca to its Italian portfolio.

Bonhams’ Locanda Locatelli cellar auction ends with all lots sold

Published: 20 October, 2025

Bonhams’ online auction of well-known Italian restaurant Locanda Locatelli’s wine cellar is now over, having sold all lots.

Italy: Strong harvest anticipated though oversupply fears remain

Published: 11 September, 2025

Italy’s wine sector is expected to produce 47.4m hls of wine this year. The figure, compiled by Assoenologi, ISMEA and the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), represents an +8% rise compared to 2024’s harvest.

Calabrian bounty: A region ripe for discovery

Published: 10 September, 2025

The reverence held by the people of Calabria for their region’s agricultural produce is plain to see as soon as you step foot in the southern Italian region. Dining tables are adorned with spicy peperoncino, the hot chilli peppers grown in the region. These same peppers are used for the region’s well-known sausage spread, ‘nduja, a Calabrian product now found in most British supermarkets.

Promising Pinot Grigio harvest begins in DOC Delle Venezie

Published: 29 August, 2025

The 2025 Pinot Grigio harvest has begun in Italy's largest DOC, Delle Venezie, and is being hailed as promising for quality, with increased yields.

Santa Tresa spearheads revival of indigenous Orisi grape

Published: 27 August, 2025

In July of this year the Sicilian red variety Orisi was recognised by the Gazetta Ufficiale Regione Siciliana as an indigenous grape variety that can be included on a bottle’s label. This status was gained in strong part thanks to the work of Stefano Girelli who has cultivated the grape at his Santa Tresa vineyard in Vittoria in an experimental vineyard (pictured) for the last decade.