Italy launches a decree to support wine tourism in producing regions

Italy has launched a new measure to support wine tourism, with Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida saying he has signed a decree aimed at promoting visits, events and other activities linked to wine-producing areas across the country.

The measure was announced Wednesday by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, known as MASAF. According to the ministry, the decree puts into effect in Italy the reform of the wine measures included in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, under the so-called wine package.

The ministry said the decree is meant to increase public awareness and improve the reputation of vineyards by promoting wine tourism and linking the quality of Italian wines with the appeal of the territories where they are produced. In practice, the measure is designed to back local promotional initiatives that bring visitors directly to wine regions and wineries, where producers can present their products in the setting where they are made.

Under the decree, the beneficiaries are wine protection consortia, producer organizations and interprofessional organizations. Those groups will be able to seek support for activities carried out in the territory, including events, meetings, visits and other promotional actions. The ministry did not provide a funding total in the announcement or specify how much support each project may receive.

Lollobrigida said the decree is part of a broader effort to strengthen the image of Italian wine and support growth in rural areas. In comments released by the ministry, he said promoting wine tourism helps enhance quality production, landscapes, culture, hospitality and traditions across Italy, while creating development opportunities. He also said the measure reflects work done by Italy at the European level to improve the competitiveness of what he called a strategic sector for the country.

The decree adds another tool to Italy’s wine policy at a time when producers across Europe are looking for new ways to build demand, deepen consumer engagement and diversify revenue beyond bottle sales alone. Wine tourism has become an increasingly important channel for that strategy because it connects wine with travel, food, local identity and direct-to-consumer experiences. For the drinks industry, that can matter beyond simple destination marketing: a stronger tourism offer can potentially support brand reputation, increase on-site sales and help wine regions capture more spending tied to hospitality and local commerce.

The ministry said applications for aid may be submitted by October 30 of each year, following procedures to be set by Agea, Italy’s agricultural payments agency, in agreement with the country’s regions. For the 2026/2027 program year, however, the deadline will be later, on December 15, 2026.

That timetable gives eligible organizations a first reference point for planning proposals under the new framework. Because the application rules will be defined by Agea together with regional authorities, the operational details are expected to depend in part on how national and regional bodies coordinate implementation. The ministry’s statement did not say when those procedures will be published.

The focus on consortia and producer bodies is significant in the Italian wine system, where those organizations often play a central role in protecting appellations, coordinating promotion and representing groups of producers rather than individual companies acting alone. By channeling support through those structures, the government appears to be aiming at collective projects that can present a territory, a denomination or a local production system as a unified destination for visitors.

The policy also fits with a long-standing Italian approach that links agricultural products to place-based value. In the case of wine, that means using tourism to promote not only bottles and labels but also vineyards, villages, food traditions and cultural heritage. The official announcement framed the new decree in those terms, presenting wine tourism as a way to showcase the uniqueness of Italy’s wine heritage from north to south.

No further implementation documents were included in the ministry’s statement, and the announcement did not say when approved projects could begin or how the effectiveness of the measure would be assessed. It also did not indicate whether any criteria would be used to prioritize projects by region, denomination or type of activity. What is clear from the decree’s launch is that Italy is using the CAP wine framework not only to support production and market measures, but also to strengthen promotion through tourism, with applications for the first cycle now tied to the December 15 deadline for 2026/2027.