Category: Global Wine Evemts

Liz Palmer – Wine Journalist receives the 2025 ITER VITIS + The Council of Europe Award for Communication

“I am thrilled and deeply honoured to receive the 2025 ITER VITIS Award for Communication, recognizing my global advocacy in promoting wine culture, education, and responsible tourism.”

The award was presented a few days ago at the ITER VITIS Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece.  This inspiring event brought together international experts and institutions to explore how wine tourism can drive a greener, more inclusive, and innovative future across Europe.

My heartfelt “Thank You” to ITER VITIS – Cultural Routes of the Vine and Wine, the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes Programme, and to all those working to preserve and celebrate the cultural, historical, and sustainable heritage of wine.

This recognition reinforces my lifelong commitment to advancing the dialogue between wine, culture, and sustainability – connecting people and places through the shared language of the vine.

Stay tuned for a full press release!

Liz Palmer
Thessaloniki, Greece

Etna Days 2025: A Landmark Edition

This morning, I had the privilege of attending the Etna Days 2025 “Welcome Presentation” and “Technical Tasting” where an extraordinary lineup of Etna DOC wines and producers set the tone for what promises to be a landmark edition.

“The energy and diversity of wines from Mount Etna are simply remarkable.”  Liz Palmer

Etna Days 2025 takes place from September 18 to 20 with 90 wineries presenting over 500 labels to over 70 journalists, educators, and trade professionals to celebrate one of the world’s most dynamic terroirs: a living mosaic of lava-stone terraces, ungrafted vines, extreme altitudes, and endlessly shifting microclimates.

Promoted by the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Etna DOC, the event is designed to showcase the extraordinary identity of Etna wines, the very summit of Sicily’s qualitative pyramid.

Anchored at the Picciolo Golf Resort in Castiglione di Sicilia, the program unfolds with guided tours, immersive masterclasses, and a grand walk-around tasting featuring all 500 labels. This evening’s “Gala Dinner” will unite producers, winemakers, and international jurors of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, a testament to the denomination’s growing global prestige.

As Francesco Cambria, President of the Consorzio, emphasizes: “Etna Days is not only about wines—it is about the cultural and identity value of a collective heritage. Each bottle tells a story that intertwines resilience, memory, and vision.”

Etna is more than a vineyard. It is a living laboratory of biodiversity and sustainability, where indigenous varieties such as Nerello Mascalese and Carricante thrive on ancient terraces carved from volcanic stone. This heroic viticulture has become emblematic of Sicily’s ability to preserve tradition while forging an avant-garde path on the world stage.

With the collaboration of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and the presence of over 70 international journalists and educators, Etna Days 2025 confirms the denomination’s stature as a global benchmark. Beyond wine, the ambition is holistic: to weave together hospitality, gastronomy, and cultural heritage into a sustainable model of growth for the territory.
For further details: https://consorzioetnadoc.com/en-US/home

AliveTaste’25 – Porto, Portugal

I’m heading to Porto today participate in the 9th Edition of @Alivetaste_com in Portugal!

I’ll be exploring the wine regions of Vinho Verde and Douro; visiting top wine producers, dining at some of Portugal’s most celebrated restaurants, and luxury hotels.

The journey culminates at the enchanting gardens of the Palácio do Freixo in Porto, where the annual event brings celebration of flavors and aromas with some of Portugal’s best wine producers and renowned chefs. This event will be a true celebration of Portuguese gastronomy and wine excellence and I’m thrilled to participate!

Stay tuned for highlights, tastings, and behind-the-scenes moments!

For further information about the event: https://alivetaste.com/

Liz Palmer

Charting the Future of Global Wine Tourism

Wine tourism has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade, establishing itself as a profitable and dynamic sector of the global wine industry. As a driver of sustainable development, it also plays an important role in rural development, job creation, and the direct empowerment of local communities.

Despite its growing importance, both science and practice continue to face challenges due to a lack of reliable data and sound evidence. At the international level, a significant information gap exists in the field of wine tourism, making it challenging for policymakers and the industry to develop evidence-based strategies and business models.

To address this need, Geisenheim University, together with UN Tourism, the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), the Great Wine Capitals Global Network (GWC), and WineTourism.com, has launched a global research initiative. Based on an annual international survey, this initiative provides current data and insights on wine tourism.

“Our shared goal is to provide wineries and tourism organizations with directly actionable insights through an annual report. This year’s survey focuses on innovations and emerging trends that have recently fundamentally changed the wine tourism experience,” emphasizes the initiator of the cooperation, Prof. Dr. Gergely Szolnoki, Geisenheim University.

The strength of this initiative lies in the collaboration between international organizations, academic institutions and industry representatives – a unique cooperation that combines diverse expertise and global perspectives.

The results of the study will be published as an open-access report and simultaneously presented at various events, including the UN Tourism Wine Tourism Conference in Bulgaria from 6 to 7 October 2025 and the Great Wine Capitals Annual Conference in Bordeaux from 2 to 6 November 2025.

Wineries across the globe are encouraged to participate in this survey, as their contribution is vital to developing a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of global wine tourism.

Link to the study:   https://www.soscisurvey.de/winetourism2025/

The 2025 Edition of Regina Ribelle – Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Fest Successfully Concluded!

The 2025 edition of Regina Ribelle—Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Fest concluded triumphantly, reaffirming its status as a pivotal wine event in Italy’s calendar. Dedicated to Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the historic white wine [the ‘White Queen’] in a land of reds, the festival drew over 1,500 visitors to the medieval streets of San Gimignano for a multi-sensory journey through tastings, seminars, and cultural encounters.

Strongly promoted by the Consorzio del Vino Vernaccia di San Gimignano, in collaboration with the Municipality of San Gimignano, the festival featured 34 wineries, facilitating over 10,000 tastings across the two-day celebration. The program extended beyond wine to include masterclasses, gastronomic pairings with Tuscan delicacies, and family-friendly entertainment.

An important highlight was the Best Sommelier of Tuscany competition—organized by the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS)—with Luca Marchiani receiving top honours.

From an industry standpoint, the event served as a crucial platform for media engagement. Over 80 international and Italian journalists, including myself, were hosted for exclusive press days (May 15–16), which featured technical tastings and curated winery visits. The gala dinner, held in the breathtaking historic Piazza del Duomo, was curated by Chef Gaetano Trovato of the two-Michelin-starred Arnolfo Ristorante.

Adding a cultural dimension, the unveiling of a sculpture by renowned Tuscan artist Andrea Roggi underscored the connection between Vernaccia and the arts, both classical and contemporary.

The 2024 Vintage

The 2024 vintage marks a return to productivity after the decline of 2023. Despite a rainy September that delayed the harvest, the results were notably elegant. Vernaccia di San Gimignano demonstrated once again its remarkable adaptability to its native territory. In terms of numbers, the 2024 harvest produced 5,904,698 kg of grapes for Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG wine, equating to 4,069,843 litres of wine, with a 44.18% increase compared to the previous year. The number of bottles released to the market is 3,670,357.

“We are extremely pleased with the great public response at this 2025 edition of Regina Ribelle – Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Fest. It was truly exciting to see so many people—journalists, tasters, professionals, and wine lovers—come together to celebrate this unique wine, a symbol of an extraordinary region. Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who believed in this challenge alongside the Consorzio, from the authorities and producers to local businesses and communities, contributing to an event that celebrates a truly unique Denomination: eight centuries of history looking decisively toward the future. Regina Ribelle is now an unmissable event in the wine world, a moment to narrate Vernaccia di San Gimignano as the oldest white wine in our region.

This festival represents not only a great celebration and an ode to the ‘Beauty’ of Vernaccia di San Gimignano but also an opportunity to reinforce the bond between tradition and the future, celebrating its identity and its central role in the Tuscan and national wine scene. Let’s not forget that in 2026, we will celebrate 750 years of this denomination in the territory and 60 years as Italy’s first DOC—a truly unique milestone,” commented Irina Strozzi, President of the Consorzio del Vino Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

The next edition of Regina Ribelle – Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Fest will occur from May 14 to 17, 2026, in San Gimignano.