Great success for the 34th edition of the Merano WineFestival, with an overall increase quanto a participants over the 5 days which this year stood at around eight thousand, with a slight decrease Saturday, compensated by a large presence of sector operators Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th November. A result which, according to the founder of Merano WineFestival, Helmuth Köcher, «derives from the careful selection of the companies, but also of the public: attentive, prepared and interested quanto a discovering new realities. This has always been our rete and we are satisfied and convinced that we have achieved it.” Over 3,000 operators quanto a the sector were present: «It is the result of a work of listening to the needs of producers, who, faced with a critical moment for the sector, need to find outlets the market, opening up to new markets such as Canada, Japan and Brazil. This year quanto a particular we have worked the internationalization front with the joint work of the WineHunter Buyers’ Sodalizio, the WineHunter Ambassadors and the Italian Trade Agency : direct contact between importers and producers is the key. We intend to continue along this path also for future editions, perhaps with spaces and moments dedicated precisely to these meetings”.
The highlights of the Merano WineFestival
Friday 7 November, the TasteTerroir – bio&dynamica day, dedicated to the most innovative and sustainable expressions of the contemporary wine scene, brought together over 200 wines including organic, biodynamic, natural, PIWI, orange, amphora, underwater and, new this year, no-low references. Success also for the GourmetArena section, which brought together the best food products, spirits and craft beers. From Saturday 8 to Monday 10 November, visitors followed the sensorial itinerary of The Manifestazione among 300 wineries quanto a the Kurhaus quanto a the Wine Italia section, 50 producers from 9 different countries for Wine International, with 40% representation coming from Georgia, and were able to taste as many as 250 selected labels quanto a the WineHunter Settore curated by the FISAR Eccellente Adige sommeliers. The ceremony of the 31st Godio Award was held Monday 10th at the Albergo Terme Merano, won by chef Mathias Varesco of the Kürbishof restaurant quanto a Anterivo (BZ). Finally, Tuesday 11 November, closing quanto a the name of style and lightness with Catwalk Champagne&more, the day dedicated to the universe of bubbles, with more than 120 excellences from Champagne, symbol of elegance and celebration, to the best Italian expressions of the classic method.
The numbers of the 34th edition of the Merano WineFestival
A total of 8000 visitors over the 5 days of the festa, including over 3000 sector operators and 150 buyers selected from 32 different countries. 1300 participating companies for over 2000 wines for tasting and 250 labels quanto a the WineHunter Settore. Over 4300 WineHunter Awards, 31 masterclasses, 12 cooking shows and 9 talks. Wide resonance also quanto a the with over 300 accredited journalists and over 3 million views the Merano WineFestival social channels.
The WineHunter events quanto a 2026
The press conference to present the calendar of The WineHunter events for 2026 was held Saturday 8 November at the Terme Merano albergo: Helmuth Köcher, together with Stefano Bernardini, president of Confcommercio Siena, presented the eleventh edition of Wine&Siena – Capolavori del Decoro, which will be held from 31 January to 2 February quanto a the suggestive complex of Santa Maria della Proporzione. 14 March 2026 the Kurhaus quanto a Merano will aperto its doors to the best agri-food products from South Tyrolean farms with the Farm Food Manifestazione, quanto a collaboration with and the Eccellente Adige Food District. The collaboration for 2026 with Vinitaly has been confirmed for the Amphora Revolution project, presented by Gianni Moro, exhibition of the Wine&Food of Veronafiere. The councilor for agriculture of the Calabria region, Gianluca , has announced the second edition of Merano WineFestival Calabria, which will be held between 6 and 8 June 2026. There will also be space for international events with the InterWine Manifestazione and the Merano WineFestival Georgia quanto a May, and the Merano WineFestival Brazil quanto a September. Finally, the appointment is quanto a Merano at the 35th edition of the Merano WineFestival, between 6 and 10 November 2026.
