Merano Wine Festival 2026: the niche wine event in Alto Adige

Merano Wine Festival 2026 is just around the corner. It is one of the three appointments I never miss each year, alongside Vinitaly and Wine Paris. Far from the bustle of the big fairs, it is niche, welcoming, and everything unfolds amid the elegance of Merano. I truly love this city, just as South Tyrol (Südtirol/Alto Adige) in general, and working here over the past year has strengthened this bond. If you work in wine and want to taste the best of Italian wine, food, as well as Champagne, while enjoying this charming city and sharing a glass with producers and fellow professionals just out of the fair, this is the one I would put in your diary for early November.

Why Merano feels different from the big fairs

Vinitaly and Wine Paris are essential, and I would never skip them. They are also enormous. Halls stretch on and on, appointments pile up, and a good part of your day goes into moving from one pavilion to another. Merano is the opposite. The festival is concentrated around the Kurhaus and a handful of nearby venues in a compact spa town, so you can walk from a tasting to a masterclass without checking the clock.

That scale changes the quality of the work. You arrive at a table, and the producer has time for you. For a buyer, a journalist, a sommelier, or every wine professional who tastes for a living, those conversations are the whole point of going to a trade event. It is also much less tiring phisycally, and the Therme Merano for some relaxation is just a few steps away!

The setting does the rest. The Kurhaus is an Art Nouveau landmark, and Merano retains a Central European atmosphere from its days as a favourite spa resort of the Habsburg era and a town closely tied to Empress Sissi. The Merano Wine Festival location perfectly combines charm, beauty and elegance with food and wine excellence, while fine dining, grand and boutique hotels, alongside exceptional hospitality, enhance the experience even further.

Merano Wine Festival 2026: dates, venue and opening hours

The 35th edition runs from Friday 6 to Tuesday 10 November 2026. Helmuth Köcher founded the festival in 1992, so this is a real milestone.

The main tasting days of the Merano Wine Festival 2026 are Saturday 7 to Monday 9 November at the Kurhaus. Hours are 10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 10:00am to 5:00pm on Monday. The Gourmet Arena hosts the Culinaria section, with food, spirits and beer, from 6 to 9 November.

The festival opens on Friday 6 November at 10:00am with an international ceremony and a toast linked live to Tokyo, where the first Merano WineFestival Japan takes place at the same time. It closes on Tuesday 10 November with Catwalk Champagne & more, a day devoted to sparkling wines, from Champagne to Italian traditional method, with caviar and oysters on the side.

Friday 6, is also the day of TasteTerroir – bio&dynamica, with organic, biodynamic, natural and PIWI wines. It also covers sustainable viticulture, amphora winemaking, underwater ageing.

What you can taste

The numbers give an idea of the offer: around 810 companies and more than 2,600 products in tasting over five days. Wine Italia brings over 350 Italian wineries, from well-known names to small artisan producers. The WineHunter Area adds over 120 selected labels, served by FISAR Alto Adige sommeliers. Next Platinum presents wines at the top of their award band, close to the highest recognition.

In the Gourmet Arena, around 150 companies present food, beer and spirits, with showcooking and pairings. There is also a No-Low Alcohol area, which reflects a growing market, and a WineHunter Rosé Selection.

International producers: Georgia and beyond

I particularly appreciate the growing presence of international producers. The Wine International section brings more than 100 producers from 12 countries, including Lebanon, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa. The focus is still on a few regions, Georgia among them, but this is exactly the part that other events generally lack.

Georgia deserves its place. Qvevri winemaking, in clay vessels buried underground, is recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage. Tasting these wines in a calm setting, with the producer next to you, is very different from a quick pour at a crowded stand.

For professionals like me who work internationally, this section is valuable. It lets you compare styles and terroirs from the Old and New World without a plane ticket for each, and it often turns up producers who are not yet on every importer’s radar. The business side is also covered, with the WH Buyers’ Club and the ICE Buyers Area as dedicated B2B spaces. The 2025 edition hosted 150 selected buyers from 32 countries.

WineHunter Platinum: the top of the pyramid

Quality sits at the centre of the festival. Throughout the year, the tasting panels led by Helmuth Köcher assess wine, food, spirits and beer for The WineHunter Guide. Products scoring between 90 and 92.99 points receive the WH Award Red, between 93 and 95.99 the Gold, and above 96 the Platinum.

This year brings a first. Four wines received a perfect 100/100 Platinum score, announced at the presentation of the festival in the Italian Senate. They are Ferrari Trento Perlé 2002, Cantina Terlano Rarity 2013 from Alto Adige, Attilio Contini Vernaccia di Oristano Riserva 1998 from Sardinia and Avignonesi Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice 2012 from Tuscany. In total, 101 products across wine, food and spirits received the Platinum award. The ceremony takes place on Friday 6 November at 4:30pm at the Teatro Puccini.

Looking ahead, the organisers have announced the Merano Wine Observatory for 2027, a year-round platform to follow how wine will be produced, sold and consumed in the next 5, 10 or 20 years.

Life outside the festival

I also enjoy life outside the festival, and Merano makes that easy. The Fuori Salone runs along Corso Libertà, the town’s red carpet, with talks, tastings and showcooking open to the public. The Hotel Terme Merano hosts the WineHunter Masterclass sessions, as well as book presentations and cultural moments around the world of wine.

On Friday evening, the Kurhaus changes face for the Gala Dinner at 7:00pm. It is prepared in collaboration with Teritoria, the collection of over 300 Maisons and Tables sensationnelles in Europe, with Alain Ducasse as Brand President. Five chefs each interpret a different expression of elegance, and three of them lead Michelin-starred restaurants.

The summit “Respiro e Grido della Terra” returns on Friday at 9:00am at the Teatro Puccini, with five scientific studies on viticulture and oenology. And if you taste something you love, the Most’ app lets you add wines to a cart by scanning the QR code at the producer’s stand. You then receive everything in a single order and shipment at the end of the day.

Practical tips for visiting

Book your hotel early, because Merano is small and the festival fills it. If you are interested in organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines, arrive on Friday for TasteTerroir. Remember that Monday closes at 5:00pm, one hour earlier than Saturday and Sunday. Prepare a shortlist of producers, but leave some space for discoveries, because that is where this festival gives the most.

Single and multi-day tickets are available online, as well as trade and press accreditation, on www.meranowinefestival.com.

Final thoughts

Merano Wine Festival 2026 will not give you the scale of Vinitaly or Wine Paris, and that is exactly why I go. It gives you smooth, approachable tasting experience and a charming location, in one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. Even if Merano is hard to compare with other Italian cities: German is the main language spoken here, and the local culture and sense of order are unmistakably Central European. For anyone in the wine trade who values quality over quantity, it is an essential date.

Find out more about Merano Wine Festival 2026

Originally from Latvia and based in Italy for 35 years, for about 20, I worked as a wine consultant. I am a DipWSET-certified (WSET Diploma in Wines, London School), Master of Wine student, professional sommelier of the most important Italian associations, AIS and FISAR, Valpolicella Wine Specialist, Wine Judge, Official Port, Sherry, Madeira, and Cava Educator, Langhe Wines Ambassador, Spanish Wine Specialist, SSA Certified Sake Sommelier and Rice Sommelier.

I am a founder and project manager at Tooscans, e-commerce dedicated mainly to Tuscan products, with offline distribution, and Tooscans Wine Academy. I created the Sparkling Life website, which is published in three languages and focuses on food and wine excellence. I have a Master’s Degree in Digital marketing, I deal with consulting, communication, digital mktg, branding strategy, alongside the wine education.

Find out more: Irina Mihailenko