Vinitaly 2026: Assovini Sicilia focuses on wine tourism as a strategic lever

Wine tourism becomes the central axis of Assovini Sicilia‘s strategy for the 58th edition of Vinitaly 2026. The association, which today brings together one hundred Sicilian wineries, identifies wine tourism as a further development asset alongside the island’s consolidated production quality.

The theme will be at the center of the conference “Journey to Sicily: the new frontiers of wine tourism”, scheduled for Monday, April 13 at 12:30 PM (Conference Hall, Pavilion 2). The meeting will address wine tourism as an economic lever and as a factor for change in the communication and storytelling of the wine sector.

Following the opening by Mariangela Cambria, several sessions dedicated to the new dynamics of wine tourism are planned. Filippo Galanti will present data from the Divinea Observatory with the talk “From the rows to the cellar: the new wine experiences”.

Federica Fina will follow with “The territory, a new cultural container for wine experiences”, while Filippo Magnani will offer an overview of international flows with “Sicily as seen by international wine travelers”. There will also be space for the relationship between wine and wellness with Francesca Planeta and the role of storytelling with Federico Geremei, concluding with publisher Giulio Perrone.

“In recent years, our association has invested in wine tourism both as a communication strategy and as a promotion for our members’ wineries,” comments the president of Assovini Sicilia, Mariangela Cambria. “As president and producer, I strongly believe in the economic value of wine tourism, but also as a tool for telling the story of our territories. Today, wineries are hubs and cultural containers capable of synthesizing, thanks to wine tourism, the different elements of the viticultural landscape.”

The program will be accompanied by a calendar of masterclasses dedicated to discovering Sicilian production variety through guided tastings. Meanwhile, the role of wine tourism is also growing at an institutional level. Irvo is promoting a dedicated area with twenty international buyers and an incoming program aimed at specialized tour operators. The initiative is part of the Vinitaly Tourism program, which strengthens B2B meetings during the Veronese event.

The 58th edition of Vinitaly will see the participation of approximately 4,000 companies from the ‘Made in Italy’ wine sector, over 100 official events, and more than 1,000 top buyers from 70 countries. North American presence is growing, with an increase in Canadian buyers, as is the Asian presence, led by China but with positive signals also from India, Japan, Thailand, and Southeast Asia. The Brazilian and Mexican markets are dynamic, while African participation is increasing with 10 countries involved. In Europe, Germany and the Nordic countries confirm their interest in Italian wine.

Assovini Sicilia’s participation is part of the PSR Sicilia 2023-2027 – Intervention SRG10 “Promotion of quality products”, promoted by the Regional Department of Agriculture. Over 40 wineries, representative of the biodiversity of the Sicilian territory, will be present at the fair.

• Wine tourism: wine seeks new paths (and fewer protagonists)
• Assovini Sicilia at FINE WineTourism Marketplace
• Wine Paris 2026: Sicily grows and looks to the future
• Sicilia Doc: an island continent (and a wine laboratory)
• Assovini: “Sicily 2025 harvest of great quality and territorial identity”