OperaWine 2026: Vinitaly's Red Carpet Opening Act Returns to Verona

News provided by

Apr 10, 2026, 09:16 ET

Veronafiere in collaboration with Vinitaly and Wine Spectator, the world's leading wine magazine, will host the fifteenth edition of OperaWine on Saturday 11 April 2026. The première event brings together 150 producers of Italy's finest wines with an invited audience of influential figures from the wine world to celebrate the very best in Italian wine on the eve of the greatest wine exhibition in the world.

VERONA, Italy, April 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking its fifteenth edition, OperaWine celebrates Italian excellence, drawing inspiration from its past while looking forward to the future. This year's concept brings together the great figures of Italian wine in a timeless tableau that honors legacy, craftsmanship, and continuity. By blending historical reverence with an evocative, dreamlike setting, the visual narrative pays tribute to an excellence that endures across generations, inviting guests to view the past as a living source of inspiration for future of the wine sector.

OperaWine returns to Verona on April 11th 2026, with a vision that celebrates the great figures of Italian wine.

Once again, OperaWine, Finest Italian Wines: Great Producers selected by Wine Spectator, will be held on April 11th at the former Gallerie Mercatali, an imposing post-industrial site that has been revitalized into a striking exhibition space.

For the first time this year, 150 wineries have been selected by the American magazine Wine Spectator and divided into three categories: Legacy Icon, Classic and New Voices.

31 Legacy Icon wineries – estates that have participated in OperaWine since its inaugural 2012 edition.
69 Classic wineries – producers that stand out according to Wine Spectator's original selection criteria.
50 New Voices wineries – a rotating category that highlights a different theme each year. For 2026, the focus is on estates established after 1990.

These leading producers will personally serve their chosen wines to a select audience of international journalists, sommeliers, Italian wine experts, ambassadors, and educators.

OperaWine 2026 Program

The invite-only première commences with the arrival of the selected producers, followed by opening remarks led by representatives of Wine Spectator and a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony. Subsequently, participants will gather for the traditional group photo. Notable guests, including international wine buyers and press, local and national authorities, Italian Wine Ambassadors and distinguished judges, will join for the Grand Tasting, culminating in the event's closure at 5:30 pm.

The prestigious tasting will once again see still red wines taking center stage, representing 114 out of 150 labels, followed by 28 still whites, 7 sparkling wines, and 1 sweet wine. On the brand front, there will be 45 debutants making their first appearance this year. The podium of the regional ranking confirms Tuscany in the lead with 48 selected wineries, followed by Piedmont (24 producers), Sicily (15) and Veneto (12).

Integral to the event's success are the partners who support the tasting. These include Institutional Partners, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ITA – the Italian Trade Agency; Official Partner, UniCredit e Cattolica Generali; Sponsors, Banco BPM and Salumi Coati; Mobility Partner, Air Dolomiti; Technical Partners; Acqua Minerale San Benedetto, La Cruncheria, Polin Forni, Sabelli, Caffè Morettino, Perbellini, Q.B. Gelato, Pulltex, and Valledoro.

The list of the wineries and wines selected is available at: https://www.vinitaly.com/en/events/operawine/operawine-2026/

About Vinitaly:

Vinitaly 2026 will be held from April 12th to the 15th. Vinitaly 2025 counted a total of 97,000 attendees, including over 32,000 international trade visitors from 130 countries - about one third of the total - marking a 7% increase from the previous edition. The première event to Vinitaly, "OperaWine: Finest Italian Wines" which will be held on the 11^th of April, one day prior to Vinitaly, unites international wine professionals, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste 150 outstanding Italian wines, as selected by Wine Spectator. In February 2014 Vinitaly with Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the 34th edition of its Certification Course. To date, there are 464 Certified Italian Wine Ambassadors of which 22 are also Italian Wine Experts.

About Wine Spectator:
Wine Spectator is the world's leading authority on wine. Anchored by Wine Spectator magazine, a print publication that reaches around 3 million readers worldwide, the brand also encompasses the Web's most comprehensive wine site (WineSpectator.com), mobile platforms and a series of signature tasting events. Wine Spectator examines the world of wine from the vineyard to the table, exploring wine's role in contemporary culture and delivering expert reviews of more than 10,000 wines each year. Parent company M. Shanken Communications, Inc., also publishes Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate, Market Watch, Shanken News Daily and Shanken's Impact Newsletter.

SOURCE OperaWine