Bologna Will Host Italy’s Independent Winegrowers Fair in November

Bologna will host the 15th edition of the Market of Wines of Independent Winegrowers from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23 at BolognaFiere, organizers announced Tuesday night during the Biografilm festival, where the event also unveiled its new official poster by the Italian illustrator Emiliano Ponzi.

The announcement was made in the cloister of the Santa Cristina della Fondazza complex before a screening of “Spirit Animal,” a film by Yuri Pirondi and Inês von Bonhorst. The evening included a tasting of wines from members of FIVI, the Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers, which represents producers who manage the full chain of production themselves, from growing grapes to bottling and selling wine.

The fair is organized by BolognaFiere and has become one of Italy’s main annual gatherings for small and mid-sized wine estates that emphasize direct ties to vineyards, local identity and direct sales. This year’s edition is expected to bring together 1,000 winegrowers from every Italian region, along with European delegations linked to CEVI, the European confederation of independent winegrowers, and more than 30 members of FIOI, the Italian federation of independent olive growers.

Ponzi, who lives in New York and works across editorial and advertising projects, said his image was meant to show the care and manual work behind independent wine production. In his description of the poster, he said the scene places vineyards, grape clusters, landscape, light and human presence at the center, with a female figure touching the vine to suggest the daily attention that distinguishes artisanal farming from industrial production. He said the image was built around the idea of proximity between grower and plant, and around the direct relationship with land that defines independent winegrowers.

Ponzi is one of Italy’s best-known illustrators working internationally. His clients have included Apple, Louis Vuitton, Armani and the Museum of Modern Art, and his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The New Yorker. The collaboration continues a recent pattern in which Corraini Edizioni has helped commission artists to create the fair’s visual identity. Previous editions featured posters by Guido Scarabottolo in 2023, Steven Guarnaccia in 2024 and Sarah Mazzetti in 2025.

Rita Babini, a winegrower and president of FIVI, said the new poster reflects both vineyard work and the cultural meaning of Italy’s wine landscapes. She pointed to terraced pergola vineyards in northern Piedmont, hillside rows and other vineyard geometries as signs of long human intervention in rural areas. For FIVI, she said, growers are not only producers but also custodians of territory and landscape.

That message is central to how FIVI presents its members. According to a 2024 Nomisma Wine Monitor study cited by the federation, 81% of FIVI wineries operate on hillside or mountain slopes. The group argues that this kind of viticulture requires constant human presence and helps preserve rural areas that might otherwise face abandonment. It also links that work to wine tourism, since many member estates open their cellars to visitors and rely on direct contact with consumers.

Rossano Bozzi, director of BolognaFiere’s Heritage business unit, said the event is intended as more than a trade fair. He described it as a platform connecting supply chains, communities and culture while responding to changes in how people buy wine and seek experiences around it. Presenting the event during Biografilm was meant to reinforce that idea by linking wine with storytelling, place and personal histories.

The fair will occupy 40,000 square meters across four halls at BolognaFiere. Halls 29 and 30 will host winegrowers, while halls 26 and 28 will be used for food offerings and visitor services. Organizers said master classes will again accompany tastings and retail sales, which have become a hallmark of the event along with the carts and rolling trolleys many visitors use to transport purchases.

Accessibility is also part of this year’s pitch. Organizers said Bologna’s rail connections make it possible for visitors to reach the fair without relying only on cars. Through an agreement with Trenitalia, travelers using Frecciarossa trains will be able to access event fares with discounts of up to 75% compared with base tickets. BolognaFiere will again use two entrances, Piazza Costituzione and North Gate, while drivers will have access both to parking near Piazza Costituzione and to the Michelino garage with 5,500 spaces near the Bologna Fiera highway exit.

FIVI was founded in 2008 as a nonprofit organization to defend and promote independent winegrowers in Italy. It now counts more than 1,800 members across all Italian regions, representing more than 18,000 hectares of vineyards. The federation defines an independent winegrower as a producer who oversees every stage of winemaking directly rather than outsourcing core parts of production.

By launching its November fair through a cultural festival in June, FIVI is also signaling how strongly it wants to tie wine to broader public life in Bologna. The city has become an important base for the event not only because of its exhibition infrastructure but also because of its role as a transport hub and cultural center. For organizers, that combination supports both commercial goals and a wider message about agriculture rooted in place.

The November gathering comes at a time when many Italian producers are trying to strengthen direct-to-consumer channels and tourism-related revenue while also defending smaller-scale farming models against rising costs and market concentration. In that context, FIVI continues to frame its annual market as both a sales event and a public statement about who makes wine in Italy and how that work is tied to land, landscape and local economies.