The Editorials section of Winemag.it features reflections, analysis, and commentary on the most current topics in Italian and international wine. A space for in-depth exploration by Davide Bortone, dedicated to interpreting changes in the sector, Consortium decisions, market policies, and new dynamics in wine communication.
Winemag.it editorials offer an independent and critical perspective, grounded in journalistic experience and direct knowledge of the territory. Each article aims to stimulate debate and provide useful interpretations for producers, operators, journalists, and enthusiasts.
A reference point for those seeking not just news, but also context, vision, and analysis on the present and future of wine.
We are alone in the wine universe that exists: it’s time for the screw cap. There’s a snapshot of Italy that comes from an Ikea study on homes and domestic habits. It tells of increasingly multifunctional spaces, of tables that are shrinking. Of kitchens becoming fast-paced spaces. Of meals consumed in solitude. Or in front […]
We are alone in the wine universe that exists: it’s time for the screw cap Read More »
Thirty years of Buttafuoco Storico and it shows. Thirty years wasted — from 1996 to 2026 — without managing to build a precise, clear, and distinct identity around what is one of the most fascinating and historically rich wines of Oltrepò Pavese. Thirty years in the shadow of nothingness, or close to it. Indeed, it
30 years (wasted) of Buttafuoco Storico Read More »
For some time now, the message coming from restaurants has been clear, even if rarely stated: wine has become a problem. Not an asset. Not an identity element. Rather, an inconvenient item. Costs. Storage. Tied-up capital. Staff to train (at best). Customers increasingly wary or misinformed by the natural wine “expert” cousin, who only drinks
Dear restaurateurs, is wine weighing you down? Convert! To corkage fees Read More »
Transparency in Italian wine continues to be an unresolved issue. Not due to a lack of regulations, but because of the systematic use of gray areas permitted by European legislation. The case of Barolo “Vigne Piemontesi”, on sale at Xtrawine, is emblematic and deserves a detailed analysis. It clearly demonstrates how far the system is
Xtrawine wine back labels: there is a major transparency issue in Italy Read More »
2025 was a transitional year for Italian and international wine. Not a simple cyclical slowdown, but a deeper phase of transformation that challenged production models, narratives, and established certainties. This is why Winemag has chosen to tell its story once again month by month, through a series of twelve articles that will retrace—starting tomorrow, January
Wine in 2025: A Year Told Month by Month by Winemag Read More »
The European wine industry is not facing a temporary crisis. It is facing a reckoning that comes after years of inability to read the market. The support plan approved in early December by the European Commission certifies this difficulty. Faced with falling consumption, struggling exports, and obsolete production models, the response remains defensive. But above
Once upon a time there was wine: Europe uproots vineyards instead of evolving Read More »
In a wine world seeing plummeting consumption, within an international context that will reshape the viticultural landscape and the map of wineries in major global wine regions, some wine competitions continue to appear arrogant. Detached from the real problems of the sector. And, above all, driven by an irrepressible and incomprehensible spirit of self-referentiality. Proof
Concours des Grands Vins du Monde in Macon: What No One Will Tell You Read More »
Nowhere in the world is there a more contradictorily dynamic appellation than Spanish Cava. In no other wine-growing region does the tension between past and future, between industry and craftsmanship, between identity and mass market, manifest itself so clearly as in the hills of Catalonia—or rather, of Comtats de Barcelona, where over 90% of production
Spanish Cava, its own blessing and curse, toasts to Meeting 2025 Read More »
According to the Treccani, the meaning of “evolution” is closely linked to “unfolding, development, and orderly movement toward a goal.” In biological terms, it indicates the progressive accumulation of modifications in a living being, leading to changes in form and function over time, as described by the theory of evolution. More broadly, it refers to
Collio (in) Evolution without the Produttori di Cormòns cooperative Read More »
Despite difficult times, between a consumption crisis and various attempts at repositioning, Italian wine continues to spend, rather than invest. Many companies—wineries, but not only—simply choose to “appear” in publications that call themselves “luxury,” convinced they are gaining prestige and new markets. In reality, dear producers, you should know that these are often empty spaces,
