Vini ad Arte 2026, Romagna and its sub-zones: lower volumes, greater identity

Romagna wine is accelerating the enhancement of territorial identities. This is the message that emerged strongly during the presentation conference of Vini ad Arte 2026, an event organized by the Consorzio Vini di Romagna. The event put the spotlight on the evolution of Romagna Sangiovese and Albana, the growth of the sub-zones, and the increasingly evident effects of climate change on regional viticulture.

While figures confirm the general difficulty of red wines on the markets, on the other hand, the sub-zone project continues to gain ground. It is increasingly becoming the symbol of a Romagna that wants to express itself through terroir rather than just the grape variety.

“Producers are increasingly seeking the territorial expression of their vineyards,” explained Filiberto Mazzanti, director of the Consortium. This trend is accompanied by a demand for wines that are more easy-drinking, readable, and linked to the territory compared to the more extractive and concentrated styles of the past. An interpretation that, especially for Romagna Sangiovese, passes through the “quality pyramid”: Romagna Sangiovese DOC, Romagna Sangiovese Superiore, and, at the top, Romagna Sangiovese Sottozona.

The numbers tell of two opposite phenomena. On one hand, the production decline of Romagna Sangiovese DOC, which fell from over 10 million bottles in 2022 to 8 million in 2025. On the other, the growth of the Sottozona category, which in 2025 reached nearly 648,000 bottles compared to approximately 519,000 in 2024.

According to Mazzanti, it is not a matter of replacing the entire traditional production with territorial wines, but of providing wineries with labels capable of more effectively communicating the specificity of Romagna and achieving greater recognizability on the market.

Romagna Sangiovese sottozona: l’identità prevale sull’annata. Anche nel 2023

One of the central themes remains the path of the sub-zones, which have now become the main narrative tool for Romagna Sangiovese. From the Imola area to the Rimini area, the regulations identify 15 geographical mentions: Imola, Serra, Brisighella, Oriolo, Marzeno, Modigliana, Castrocaro, Predappio. And also: Bertinoro, Cesena, Mercato Saraceno, Longiano, Verucchio, Coriano, and San Clemente.

The idea is simple: each valley expresses different characteristics thanks to the combination of soil, altitude, exposure, and local traditions. A mosaic of territories stretching from the gates of Bologna to Rimini. One of the most advanced wine zoning projects in Italy.

Ample space was also given to Romagna Albana DOCG, the first Italian white wine to obtain DOCG status in 1987. Today it counts 768 hectares of vineyards and a bottling volume that in 2025 is close to 918,000 bottles.

According to President Roberto Monti, the most significant change concerns the evolution of styles: the historic sweet version continues to lose ground while the dry typology is growing, accompanied by the quality niche represented by passito wines. A particularly versatile grape variety, capable of very different interpretations, from dry to passito, including sparkling versions.

On the agronomic front, enologist Marisa Fontana outlines a detailed picture of the 2025 vintage, defined as the fourth warmest year since 1961 after 2024, 2023, and 2022.

The concern was not just the maximum temperatures, but above all the high minimums, which favored early vegetative starts. High spring water availability generated great vegetative vigor, but the June heatwave caused sunburn to the clusters after hedging.

The harvest confirmed a well-established trend: generalized early starts and increasingly short ripening windows. The first grapes entered the cellar as early as the beginning of August, while many Sangiovese grapes had reached full technological and phenolic maturity by mid-September.

From a production standpoint, the regional harvest recorded a 13% decline compared to 2024. In Romagna, the sanitary situation remained overall under control, with limited problems of downy mildew and powdery mildew. Instead, there were damages from sunburn, heatstroke, and significant cases of esca disease.

Countering the “depopulation” of hillside vineyards is one of the great challenges facing the Consortium. According to data reported by President Monti, hillside surface areas are recording a slight but constant contraction. In contrast, plantings in lowland areas destined for more mass production and less oriented toward the peculiarities of the sub-zones are growing.

The reason is essentially economic: producing wine on hillsides is more expensive and less productive. The Consortium’s challenge is therefore to increasingly enhance the denominations and territorial identities to ensure profitability for the wineries that continue to safeguard the hillside slopes.

And this is precisely where the game will be played in the coming years. While climate change accelerates and the market reduces space for generic wines, Romagna seems to have chosen its path: less homogenization, more territory. A journey that passes through the sub-zones of Albana and Sangiovese and that the Consortium aims to narrate in all its complexity.