Vinitaly 2026: Dates, Halls, Tickets and Everything In Between

Every April, Verona becomes the operational center of the Italian wine trade. Vinitaly, held at Veronafiere since 1967, brings together over 4,000 producers, 32,000 international buyers, and 97,000 visitors across four days to taste, negotiate, and do the business that drives Italian wine exports worldwide. If you work in wine and Italy is part of your world, this is the week that matters. Here is everything you need to know before you land.

Vinitaly, held at Veronafiere since 1967, is the global reference point for Italian wine producers and international buyers.

2026 Quick Facts

📅 Dates (trade fair): April 12 to 15, 2026

📅 Dates (Vinitaly and the City): April 10 to 12, 2026

📅 OperaWine: Saturday, April 11, 2026

📅 5StarWines blind tasting: April 7, 8 and 9, 2026

📅 Vinitaly Design Award ceremony: April 11, 2026 at Teatro Ristori, Verona

📅 Vinitaly International Academy: April 15 to 19, 2026

⏰ Hours (Sunday to Tuesday): 9:30 to 18:00 (last entry 17:00)

⏰ Hours (Wednesday): 9:30 to 16:30 (last entry 14:30)

📍 Location: Veronafiere, Viale del Lavoro 8, 37135 Verona, Italy

🎟 Tickets: Online only at vinitaly.com (2025 reference prices: €125/day standard; €265 season pass)

🚆 By train: Verona Porta Nuova station, 20-minute walk or free fair shuttle

✈ By air: Verona Villafranca Airport (VRN), approx. 15 minutes from fairgrounds

🚗 By car (A4 motorway from Milan or Venice): Exit Verona Sud, then 1 km to fairgrounds 🚗 By car (A22 motorway from Brenner or Modena): Exit Verona Nord, then Tangenziale Sud toward Fiera

🅿 Parking: Multiple on-site lots; overflow at Bentegodi Stadium, Veronamercato Agri-food Centre (A22 side) or Adigeo shopping centre (A4 side)

🍷 Exhibitors: 4,000+

🌍 Countries represented: 130+

👥 Visitors (2025 edition): 97,000+

🤝 International buyers (2025): 32,000+ from 70+ target countries

📱 App: Vinitaly Plus (vinitalyplus.com)

📞 Customer Care: +39 045 11176091 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00)

🔞 Age restriction: No entry for anyone under 18, even with adult accompaniment

🐕 Dogs: Permitted on leash (max 80 cm); large breeds and dogs prone to biting must also wear a muzzle

🔢 Edition: 58th

Italy's Wine, All in One Place

Verona in the second week of April belongs entirely to wine. Hotels fill months in advance. Restaurants adjust their pricing. The roads around Veronafiere carry the particular hum of a city that has been hosting this event for 58 years and knows exactly what it means.

Vinitaly is the world's most-attended wine trade fair, held annually at Veronafiere. The official Veronafiere press release for the 58th edition describes it as "the only international event entirely dedicated to Italian wine" and "the trade fair infrastructure serving the promotion, internationalization, and business of Made in Italy wine." The figures back the ambition: more than 4,000 exhibitors and 97,000 visitors across four days, with 32,000 of those being hosted international buyers from more than 130 countries. The 2025 edition organized more than 18,500 B2B meetings. The 58th edition runs April 12 to 15, 2026.

What those numbers cannot capture is what it actually feels like to stand in a pavilion where a Barolo producer from the Langhe is pouring next to a Georgian natural wine importer, a New Zealand négociant, and a delegation from Alto Adige with 90 wineries collectively under one roof. Vinitaly is not just large. It is comprehensive in a way that no other event dedicated to Italian wine has managed to replicate, and for Italian producers specifically, a fellow exhibitor from Alto Adige put it plainly at ProWein 2025: "Now, we look forward to Vinitaly, the real major global event for us Italian producers."

How It Started

The first edition, held in 1967 under the name Italian Wine Days, was a modest regional showcase. The idea was straightforward: give Italian wine producers a platform to reach buyers and press beyond their local markets. Italy's wine landscape was then, as now, fiendishly complex. Dozens of native grape varieties, hundreds of DOC and DOCG zones, and thousands of small producers working within systems that take years to understand properly. The aggregation Vinitaly offered was worth something.

Over the following decades, the fair grew in a way that tracked Italy's own wine evolution. The 1980s brought quality reforms. The 1990s brought serious international attention. By the 2000s, Vinitaly had outgrown its Italian identity to become a genuinely global event. OperaWine, the annual gala preview co-organized with Wine Spectator, launched in 2012 and formalized what had become clear to everyone: this is where the international wine trade goes to do business with Italy.

The 58th edition in 2026 arrives in a moment of real turbulence. US tariff uncertainty has rattled Italian wine exporters, whose American market accounts for significant export volume. The 2025 edition was informally nicknamed "the tariff Vinitaly" by many participants, for how much floor conversation centered on trade policy. None of that anxiety slowed attendance. If anything, Vinitaly's value as a place to gather intelligence and build relationships grows when external pressures are high.

Who Can Attend (and Who Cannot)

This is the question that trips up most first-time visitors. Vinitaly is a trade fair reserved exclusively for industry professionals. No one under 18 is admitted, even with adult accompaniment. There are no exceptions.

Qualifying professionals include wine producers, importers, distributors, buyers, restaurateurs, sommeliers (professional and passionate), journalists, and academics with verifiable credentials. The accreditation process requires documented proof of professional activity, such as a company name, professional website, or verifiable industry role.

One access rule is critical to know before you plan: if you are a passionate sommelier (not working in wine full-time) or an employee of a winery that does not exhibit at Vinitaly, you can only enter on Sunday and/or Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday are restricted to the full trade categories.

All tickets are nominal and non-transferable. Once redeemed, neither the name nor the date can be changed. There is no on-site box office. Ticketing is exclusively online through the official website. At the time of writing, 2026 pricing was not yet published (the official Italian page states "Il ticketing di Vinitaly 2026 sarà presto disponibile"). For reference, the 2025 standard daily ticket was €125.00 (VAT included) plus online booking fees, and the season pass was €265.00 plus fees. Visitors with certified disabilities entered free of charge. Press with organization approval entered free after online accreditation. Assosommelier members received a discount of over 50% on standard ticket prices in 2025.

The Full Week: Five Events Across Ten Days

Vinitaly week is far larger than four days at Veronafiere. It is an ecosystem of related events that begins before the fair opens and continues afterward.

5StarWines Blind Tasting (April 7 to 9)

The 10th edition of Veronafiere and Vinitaly's blind wine selection takes place on April 7, 8 and 9. Approximately 60 international judges taste and score participating wines on a 100-point scale. Results are published in a dedicated book and serve as a buying reference throughout fair week. The competition uses a fully blind methodology and is separate from the trade fair itself.

Vinitaly Design Award (Selections April 3 to 4, Ceremony April 11)

The Vinitaly Design Award celebrates its 30th edition in 2026. The competition evaluates packaging across 21 categories, covering wine, spirits, beer, and extra virgin olive oil. Selections are held April 3 and 4. The Award Ceremony takes place April 11 at the Teatro Ristori in Verona.

Vinitaly and the City (Friday evening April 10, Saturday 11 and Sunday 12)

The satellite program running through Verona's historic center is open to the general public. Vinitaly and the City transforms piazzas, historic palazzi, and normally inaccessible private courtyards into wine venues. In 2025, the program sold over 50,000 tickets. For 2026, the event runs in collaboration with the Valpolicella Wine Route.

A new addition for 2026: purchasing a tasting voucher booklet for Vinitaly and the City also gives you an Experience Token, redeemable between April 13 and May 3 for a visit and tasting at one of 12 partner wineries in the surrounding area. It is a practical bridge between the fair and the actual landscape the wines come from.

Also new for 2026 is Vinitaly and the Night: party evenings at the Gallerie Mercatali on April 11, 12 and 14.

OperaWine (Saturday, April 11)

The evening before the fair opens, OperaWine takes place at the Gallerie Mercatali in central Verona. Co-organized with Wine Spectator since 2012, it is a walk-around tasting featuring 150 Italian wineries selected by Wine Spectator's editorial team. For 2026, Wine Spectator has introduced three categories: "Legacy Icon," "Classic," and "New Voices," a category created specifically for this edition to spotlight emerging producers. Access is restricted to trade professionals and accredited press. Registration details are posted on the official Vinitaly website closer to the date.

Vinitaly Trade Fair (Sunday April 12 to Wednesday April 15)

The main event: four days at Veronafiere with 4,000+ exhibitors across a multi-pavilion complex.

Inside the Fair: Pavilions and Thematic Areas

The backbone of Vinitaly is Italian regional wine, organized into dedicated pavilions by geography. Each region has its own hall. Within those halls, individual producers book stands ranging from a simple table with open bottles to full installations with private tasting rooms and appointment-only areas.

The confirmed pavilion layout for 2026 includes several changes:

Umbria moves into a new, clearly identified exhibition space in Hall D.

Sicily consolidates its full offering in Hall 2.

Alto Adige is in Pavilion 6, where the regional consortium organizes daily thematic tastings with a rotating selection of 20 wines. Visitors can register at stand C2/D2.

Lombardia and Lugana are in Palaexpo Hall A1.

Beyond the regional halls, the thematic areas for 2026 include:

Vinitaly Bio (Pavilion F): Certified organic wine from Italy and abroad. One of the busier sections as organic has shifted from trend to baseline buyer expectation.

International Wines (Pavilion I): The global section. Austria, Spain, South Africa, Chile, Georgia, and more. Useful for comparative tasting and for buyers who source across multiple origins.

Vinitaly Tasting (Pavilion 10): A curated tasting experience organized with wine journalist Daniele Cernilli of DoctorWine. Structured and guided, and a useful corrective to fair-floor information overload.

Micro Mega Wines: Small producers, high-quality bottles, both native and international varieties. The section for finding producers not yet on wide distribution.

Enolitech (Pavilion F): Technology for viticulture, olive growing, and beverage production. Relevant for producers and technical buyers; easy to skip if your interest is purely tasting.

Xcellent Spirits (Area C, new for 2026): A 1,000 m2 hall dedicated to spirits and mixology, developed in collaboration with Gang of Spirits. International masterclasses on spirits trends run alongside the exhibition. This is a significant expansion of the fair into the broader premium drinks space.

NoLo Experience (2nd floor, Palaexpo, in partnership with Unione Italiana Vini): Following a 2025 pilot project, no-alcohol and low-alcohol wines now have a dedicated exhibition area covering the full supply chain, with tastings, masterclasses, and educational events.

Amphora Revolution (Hall 8): In collaboration with Merano WineFestival and The WineHunter. Focused on amphora and ancient vessel winemaking techniques.

Raw Wine (Monday, April 13 only): The global network of natural, low-intervention, organic, and biodynamic wines holds a one-day supertasting inside Vinitaly. Tickets are purchased directly through the Vinitaly website.

Xcellent Beers: Craft beer within the fair ecosystem. A smaller section, but increasingly relevant for hospitality buyers who source across categories.

Vinitaly Design (Hall H): Wine accessories, glassware, and packaging. Relevant to the hotel, restaurant, and café sector.

Vinitaly Tourism (2nd floor, Palaexpo): New as a consolidated format for 2026. Wine tourism operators, specialist buyers, and tour operators have a dedicated business point area with a daily calendar of conferences, talks, and best-practice sessions. Tailor-made incoming packages for European buyers can be activated by local areas and wineries through Veronafiere.

Getting There

By train: Verona Porta Nuova station is a 20-minute walk from Veronafiere. Free shuttle buses run throughout fair opening hours connecting the station to the fairgrounds. The same network links major parking areas, the city center, and Verona Villafranca Airport.

By air: Verona Villafranca Airport (VRN) is approximately 15 minutes from Veronafiere by taxi or fair shuttle. European connections from London, Frankfurt, Brussels, Paris, and other hubs operate during fair week, with frequencies that typically increase to meet demand.

By car from Milan or Venice (A4 motorway): Take the exit "Verona Sud" and follow signs for Fiera. The fairgrounds are 1 kilometer from the exit. Overflow parking on this side is at the Adigeo shopping center.

By car from the Brenner Pass or Modena (A22 motorway): Take the exit "Verona Nord" and follow the Tangenziale Sud toward Fiera. Overflow parking on this side is at Bentegodi Stadium or the Veronamercato Agri-food Centre.

On-site parking: Veronafiere has multiple dedicated lots. On busy days (typically Sunday and Monday), these fill by mid-morning. Arriving before 9:00 or after 14:00 improves your chances considerably.

GPS: 45.417412°N, 10.977003°E.

The Vinitaly Plus App

The Vinitaly Plus app is the year-round digital platform connecting producers, buyers, and consumers. In 2025 it recorded 412,000 views and maintained a library of more than 19,000 wines from 4,000 wineries. For 2026, the platform adds a direct-contact feature: exhibiting wineries can now reach buyers proactively to schedule fair-week meetings, rather than waiting for buyers to initiate. Download it before arriving. Use it to search exhibitors by pavilion, check tasting availability, and navigate the floor plan.

The Vinitaly International Academy

The Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) runs its 34th edition from April 15 to 19, 2026, in Verona. Two certifications are offered: Italian Wine Ambassador and Italian Wine Expert. Courses cover Italian wine geography, native varieties, production systems, and regional styles in intensive structured sessions. As of 2025, there were 340 certified Italian Wine Ambassadors and 16 Italian Wine Experts globally, and the credentials are increasingly recognized in international trade contexts. VIA registration is separate from fair accreditation and handled through the academy section of the Vinitaly website.

Practical Advice for Making the Most of It

Book accommodation immediately. Hotels in Verona fill fast once Vinitaly dates go public. The city center is convenient and walkable. Anything along the shuttle lines works. If you are staying three or more nights, consider spending one of them outside the city in Valpolicella or Soave, both 20 to 30 minutes from Verona, and directly relevant to wines you will have tasted on the fair floor.

Plan by pavilion, not by ambition. Four halls visited properly outperforms ten halls visited at a sprint. Decide before you arrive what you actually need: regional depth in one territory, broad comparative tasting across Italy, specific producer meetings, or B2B appointments set up through Vinitaly Plus. Without a plan, four hours can disappear before you have seen anything coherent.

Day-by-day access matters. Passionate sommeliers and employees of wineries that do not exhibit can only enter on Sunday and/or Wednesday. Wednesday closing is 16:30 with last entry at 14:30, significantly shorter than the other three days. Do not schedule key meetings for Wednesday afternoon.

Tickets are strictly personal. Once redeemed, the name and date cannot be changed. No on-site box office. Never buy from unofficial resellers.

Use the free shuttle network. Shuttles connect the train station, airport, major parking areas, and the fairgrounds throughout opening hours. On crowded days this is consistently faster than taxis.

The spittoon is not optional. With thousands of wines available over four days, pacing your intake is how you stay functional as a taster through Wednesday. Use it consistently.

Bring water. The pavilions are large, warm, and loud. Hydration matters more than most first-time visitors expect.

Around Verona

Verona is a genuinely beautiful city, and fair week is a legitimate reason to spend time there beyond the pavilions. The Roman Arena in Piazza Bra dominates the city center. The historic neighborhoods of Veronetta and Borgo Trento sit across the Adige river from the main tourist circuit and reward an evening's walk. The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For wine tourism beyond the fair, Valpolicella is the obvious first choice. The zone produces Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG, Valpolicella Ripasso DOC, and Valpolicella Classico DOC within 20 kilometers of the city center. The Strada del Vino Valpolicella can help with winery visits and itinerary planning. For 2026, Vinitaly and the City specifically incorporates the Valpolicella Wine Route, and the Experience Token connects to 12 partner wineries in the area from April 13 onward.

Soave, to the east of Verona, produces the DOC white based on Garganega that is routinely underestimated until you taste a producer who takes it seriously. Lake Garda lies 30 to 40 minutes west, with Bardolino and Lugana as the key appellations on the Veneto and Lombardia shores respectively.

Why It Matters

What Vinitaly has built over 58 years is the infrastructure for trust. A winery that shows up consistently, year after year, builds relationships with buyers who return consistently, year after year. The deals that get finalized are rarely closed on the fair floor. They are the culmination of conversations started at previous editions, continued over email, and brought to a conclusion over a glass poured at a stand in Verona.

For Italian wine specifically, this matters enormously. Italy has over 350 authorized grape varieties, more than 400 quality designations, and thousands of small producers working within regional systems that take years to understand. Vinitaly does not simplify that complexity. It creates conditions under which the complexity becomes navigable: a buyer from Osaka can spend four days building the relationships needed to bring Etna Bianco or Aglianico del Vulture to Japanese tables, and a producer from Campania can shake hands with someone who will put their wine in front of diners in London.

That is what makes it worth the travel, the prebooked hotels, and the tired legs by Wednesday afternoon. It is not just a wine event that happens to be large. It is the single most important global platform for Italian wine, and for the producers who work within that world, there is no substitute for it.

All Vinitaly 2026 dates, times, and structural details sourced from vinitaly.com and the official Veronafiere press release dated January 29, 2026. Ticket prices for 2026 are not yet published at time of writing. Check vinitaly.com/en/verona/buyer/ticketing for current pricing before purchasing. Entry conditions sourced from vinitaly.com/verona/operatore/condizioni-dingresso.