Italian wine among history and “new generation”: “I Migliori 100 Vini e Vignaioli d’Italia” 2026

Chiara Pepe, heading with the family the Emidio Pepe winery in the Abruzzi, and Orlando Rocca, heading the winery bearing his name in the Langhe, are named “la giovane vignaiola” - “Young Female Winemaker” and “giovane vignaiolo” - “Young Male Winemaker” of the year; Tommaso Cortonesi, producer in Montalcino with La Mannella, is recognized as “vignaiolo del cambiamento” - “Winemaker of Change”, while the collaboration between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and Feudi di San Gregorio, headed by Antonio Capaldo, earns the title of “miglior nuovo progetto vinicolo” - “Best New Wine Project”; still, to Marzia Varvaglione, head of Varvaglione 1921 in Puglia and of the Ceev (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vin), is awarded as “giovane presidente di un gruppo di produttori” - “Young President of a Producers’ Group”, while to Davide Zoppi and his husband Giuseppe Luciano Aieta (they suffered a homophobic attack last summer) are honored with the “migliore comunicazione sociale” - “Best Social Communication” award, producers with Cà du Ferrà winery in Liguria, especially for their wine “Zero Tolleranza per il Silenzio” - “Zero Tolerance for Silence”, a manifesto-label against “complicity and indifference”. These are the special awards in the guide “I Migliori 100 Vini e Vignaioli d’Italia” - “The Best 100 Wines and Winemakers of Italy” 2026, curated by Luciano Ferraro, deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, and James Suckling, one of the world leading wine critics and founder of JamesSuckling.com. The guide will be presented on October 27th, in Milan (and available at newsstands from October 28th), and WineNews can offer a preview. Now in its edition No. 12, the guide looks to the future of the wine industry, as highlighted by its subtitle: “le cantine storiche e la nuova generazione di produttori: le storie e le bottiglie della meglio gioventù” - “historic wineries and the new generation of producers: the stories and bottles of Italy finest youth”.
“We are witnessing a new season for Italian wine. A generational handover is underway - affirms Luciano Ferraro - from those who built the history of our wine to a new wave of young women and men who are rewriting its future. It is a deep change, blending respect for tradition with curiosity for innovation. That is why we dedicated the 2026 guide to young winemakers who, with passion and vision, are breathing new life into Italian vineyards while preserving the quality and diversity of our wine heritage”.
The volume, as said, also includes the list of the 100 best Italian wines, previously selected by James Suckling for his Top 100 Wines of Italy 2025 (which we reported here), and if, with all criteria considered by the critic (quality, price, and the “wow factor”), the top spots go to Etna Rosso San Lorenzo 2023 by Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Soave Classico La Rocca 2023 by Pieropan, and Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso 2020 by Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona (Bianchini family). When ranked solely by wine quality, the top three with a score of 100/100 are Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2021 by Bruno Giacosa, Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2019 by Valdicava, and Barolo Monvigliero 2021 by G.B. Burlotto. Following with 99/100, there are Barolo Brunate 2021 by Marcarini, Toscana Bòggina B 2023 by Petrolo, Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie 2020 by Il Marroneto, and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2021 by Ipsus of Mazzei family.
Among the highlights, there is narration “Le vigne storiche - 10 Vigneti Resilienti” - “Historic Vineyards - 10 Resilient Vineyards”, showcasing vineyards which preserve “memory and identity”, signed by Marco Simonit, co-founder with Pierpaolo Sirch of Simonit & Sirch - The Vine Master Pruners, whose pruning method from Friuli has gained global acclaim and is used by many of the world’s top wineries. And, which, in his “Top 10”, he included the historic Vigna dell’Impero of Tenuta Sette Ponti in Valdarno (whose peculiar history was explained on WineNews in this video), the Ancient Vineyards of Mamujada managed by Marco Bacci in the “Blue Zone” project, Contrada Rampante vineyard of Passopisciaro on Etna, the Terraces of Furore by Marisa Cuomo in Amalfi, the Old Vines of Ruggeri in Valdobbiadene, the Gelsaia Vineyard of Cecchetto in Tezze di Piave, the Meschinella Vineyard of Gianfranco Fino in Manduria, the Cardamone, Diana, and Tirro Vineyards of Andrea Reale in Amalfi, the Starse Vineyard of Cantina Addimanda in Taurasi, and the Old Vines of Pajè by Roagna in Barbaresco.
A volume, “I Migliori 100 Vini e Vignaioli d’Italia” - “The Best 100 Wines and Winemakers of Italy” 2026, which, as mentioned, bridges past and future, even in its preface, written by essayist and journalist Marzio Breda, entitled “Quando i vignaioli vinsero la battaglia dei dazi” - “When Winemakers Won the Tariff Battle”, with a compelling parallel between today situation, especially in relation to the U.S., and a story from five centuries ago during the Venetian Republic, involving the farmers of Valmarena and the Counts Brandolini, in what would later become the land of Prosecco…

Focus - “I Migliori 100 Vini e Vignaioli d’Italia” 2026: the top wineries and producers
Valle d’Aosta
Rosset Terroir - Nicola Rosset

Piedmont
Ascheri - Matteo Ascheri
Braida - Raffaella Bologna
Cascina Gilli - Davide Gasperini
Cascina Penna-Currado - Giulia e Michele Currado
Coppo - Giuditta Soldadino
Damilano - Paolo Damilano
Ferraris Agricola - Luca Ferraris
Gaja - Angelo, Gaia, Giovanni, Rossana Gaja
La Colombera - Elisa Semino
Lodali - Walter Lodali
Marchesi di Barolo - Davide e Valentina Abbona
Michele Chiarlo - Stefano Chiarlo
Pio Cesare - Federica Boffa
Poderi e Cantine Oddero - Mariacristina Oddero
Poderi Luigi Einaudi - Matteo Sardagna Einaudi
Proprietà Sperino - Luca De Marchi

Liguria
Cantine Lunae - Diego Bosoni

Lombardy
Ballabio - Mattia Nevelli
Bellavista - Francesca Moretti
Cantina Chiara Ziliani - Chiara Ziliani
Mosnel - Lucia Barzanò
Muratori - Michela Muratori
Terre d’Aneòr - Eleonora Bianchi

Trentino
Cantine Ferrari - Alessandro, Camilla, Marcello, Matteo Lunelli
Dorigati - Michele e Paolo Dorigati
Elio Endrizzi Viticoltori - Stefano Endrizzi
Maso Martis - Alessandra e Maddalena Stelzer
Moser - Carlo e Matteo Moser
Vin de la Neu - Nicola Biasi

South Tyrol
Cantina Valle Isarco - Armin Gratl
Franz Haas - Franz Haas Junior
Girlan - Oscar Lorandi

Veneto
Allegrini Wines - Francesco Allegrini
Bottega - Sandro Bottega
Ca’ Rugate - Michele Tessari
Casa Paladin - Carlo Paladin
Cecchetto - Marco Cecchetto
Davide Vignato - Davide Vignato
La Vigna di Sarah - Sarah Dei Tos
Masi - Raffaele e Sandro Boscaini
Masottina - Federico Dal Bianco
Montelvini - Alberto e Sarah Serena
Pasqua - Riccardo Pasqua
Pizzolato - Settimo Pizzolato
Roeno - Martina Centa
Villa Della Torre - Carlotta, Caterina e Marilisa Allegrini
Villa Sandi - Diva e Leonardo Moretti Polegato

Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Gradis’ciutta - Robert Princic
Gravner - Josko e Mateja Gravner
Livio Felluga - Andrea Felluga
Paraschos - Alexis e Jannis Paraschos

Emilia Romagna
Cantina Maurizio Costa - Angelo Costa
Mutiliana - Giorgio Melandri

Tuscany
Badia di Morrona - Lorenzo Serra Cervetti
Belpoggio - Enrico Martellozzo
Bibi Graetz - Bibi Graetz
Caprili - Giacomo Bartolommei
Castello del Terriccio - Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano
Castello di Meleto - Francesco Montalbano
Castello di Monsanto - Giulia e Laura Bianchi
Castello di Volpaia - Federica Mascheroni
Cinelli Colombini - Violante Cinelli Colombini
Collemezzano - Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi
Fattoria di Grignano - Tommaso Inghirami
Fèlsina - Giovanni Poggiali
Le Potazzine - Sofia e Viola Gorelli
Pinino - Salvatore Ferragamo
Poggio Antico - Marcel Van Poecke
Tassi Montalcino - Fabio Tassi
Tenuta di Artimino - Annabella Pascale
Tenuta di Camugliano - Lorenzo Niccolini
Tenuta di Trinoro - Benjamin Franchetti
Tenuta Maryamado - Emad Khashoggi
Tenuta Sette Ponti - Famiglia Moretti Cuseri
Tenuta Vergaia - Philipp Hildebrand
Tenute Folonari - Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari

The Marche
Velenosi Vini - Marianna Velenosi
Villa Bucci - Federico Veronesi

Umbria
Lungarotti - Chiara Lungarotti

Lazio
Famiglia Cotarella - Dominga, Enrica e Marta Cotarella

Campania
Alois - Massimo Alois
Azienda Agricola Tinessa - Marco Tinessa
Feudi di San Gregorio - Antonio Capaldo
Fonzone - Silvia Fonzone Caccese
Galardi Terra di Lavoro - Allegra Selvaggi
Mazzella - Gianluca Mazzella

Puglia
Vespa Vignaioli per Passione - Bruno Vespa

Basilicata
Elena Fucci - Elena Fucci

Sicily
Abraxas - Achille Scudieri
Baglio di Pianetto - Grégoire Desforge
Colosi - Pietro Colosi
Cottanera - Francesco e Mariangela Cambria
Cusumano - Alberto e Diego Cusumano
Dei Principi di Spadafora - Enrica e Francesco Spadafora
Palmento Costanzo - Serena Costanzo
Tenuta di Fessina - Jacopo Maniaci
Valle Dell’Acate - Gaetana Jacono

Sardinia
Mesa - Gaetano Marzotto
Tenuta Perda Rubia - Mario Mereu

Focus - “The Best 100 Italian Wines and Vine Growers” 2026: wines ordered by score
100
Bruno Giacosa Falletto Barbaresco Asili Riserva 2021
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2019
G.B. Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero 2021

99
Marcarini Barolo Brunate 2021
Petrolo Trebbiano Toscana Bòggina B 2023
Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie 2020
Ipsus Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2021

98
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso San Lorenzo 2023
Pieropan Soave Classico La Rocca 2023
Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso 2020
Castello di Ama Chianti Classico Gran Selezione San Lorenzo 2022
Maugeri Etna Bianco Superiore Contrada Praino Frontemare 2023
Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Costa Grande 2021
Bibi Graetz Toscana Testamatta 2023
Paolo Scavino Barolo Bussia Vigna Fantini 2021
Capezzana Vin Santo di Carmignano Riserva 2017
Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019
Tenuta Sette Ponti Toscana Oreno 2023
Pira (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Mosconi 2021
San Polino Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019
Renieri Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019
Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore Monte Lodoletta 2019
Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2020
Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonnello 2021
Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Giovanni Neri 2020
Tua Rita Toscana Redigaffi 2023
Vietti Barolo Monvigliero 2021
Tassi Brunello di Montalcino Franci Riserva 2019
Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne 2021
Ceretto Barolo Brunate 2021
Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio 2021
Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 2022
Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Terlaner I Grande Cuvée 2022
Tenuta di Trinoro Toscana Rosso 2022
Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri - Sassicaia Sassicaia 2022
Montevertine Toscana Le Pergole Torte 2022
Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019
Marchesi Antinori Toscana Solaia 2022
Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico Riserva’ NEL 2016

97
Foradori Pinot Grigio Vigneti delle Dolomiti Fuoripista 2023
Les Crêtes Pinot Nero Valle d’Aosta Revei 2022
J. Hofstätter Sauvignon Alto Adige Oberkerschbaum Riserva 2022
M. Marengo Barolo Bricco delle Viole 2021
Rosset Valle d’Aosta Sopraquota 900 2023
Capichera Vermentino di Gallura Superiore Vign’Angena 2024
Giodo Nerello Mascalese Sicilia Alberelli 2022
Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colledilà 2022
Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici 2020
Blue Zone Isola dei Nuraghi Vigneti Centenari 2022
Castello di Bossi Toscana DiMarco 2022
Carlo Giacosa Barbaresco Montefico 2022
Palladino Barolo Parafada 2021
Grosjean Pinot Nero Valle d’Aosta Les Frères 2022
Castiglion del Bosco Brunello di Montalcino Millecento Riserva 2019
Pietradolce Etna Rosso Contrada Rampante 2022
Jermann Venezia - Giulia dove i sogni non hanno fine 2023
Anselmet Chardonnay Valle d’Aosta Mains et Coeur 2023
Fattoria Le Pupille Toscana Saffredi 2023
Caiarossa Toscana 2022
Conterno - Fantino Barolo Ginestra Vigna del Gris 2021
Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigneto Il Poggio 2020
Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano Riserva 2019
Francesco Rinaldi & Figli Barolo Brunate 2021
Massolino Barolo Parafada 2021
G.D. Vajra Barolo Baudana 2021
Il Borro Toscana 2021
Ettore Germano Barolo Vignarionda 2020
Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019
Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Riserva 2016
Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2021
Colterenzio Sauvignon Alto Adige Gran Lafóa Riserva 2022
Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso San Lorenzo Piano delle Colombe 2022
Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 2021
Bovio Barolo Gattera Riserva 2019
San Leonardo Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2020
Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo Villero 2021
Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Vigna La Casa 2020
Isole e Olena Toscana Cepparello 2022
Mauro Veglio Barolo Rocche dell’Annunziata Riserva 2019
Feudo Maccari Nero d’Avola Terre Siciliane Vigna Guarnaschelli 2023
Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2016
Altesino Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 2020
Frescobaldi Toscana Giramonte 2023
Eredi Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2019
Grattamacco Bolgheri Superiore 2022
Giodo Brunello di Montalcino 2020
San Giusto a Rentennano Merlot Toscana La Ricolma 2022
Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio All’Oro Riserva 2019
Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Schiena d’Asino 2019
Tenuta di Biserno Toscana Biserno 2022
Bruno Rocca Barbaresco Rabajà Riserva 2019

96
Travaglini Gattinara 2021
Attems Sauvignon Blanc Collio Cicinis 2024
Schiopetto Pinot Grigio Collio 2024
Pievalta Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico San Paolo Riserva 2021
Elena Walch Chardonnay Alto Adige Vigna Castel Ringberg Riserva 2022
Inama Soave Classico Foscarino I Palchi Grande Cuvée 2022
Michele Satta Bolgheri Superiore Piastraia 2022
Passopisciaro Terre Siciliane Contrada R 2023
Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvée Annamaria Clementi Riserva 2016

Focus - When the vinegrowers won the tariff battle by Marzio Breda (journalist and essayist)
An old torment, that of wine tariffs. Without going too far back (though one could trace it to Roman times) there is evidence of a dispute five centuries ago in which the peasants of Valmarena clashed with their feudal lords, the Brandolini counts, when they appealed to the magistrates of the Serenissima Republic to preserve their right to sell the fruits of their harvests directly to consumers. It was a light white wine, “vin pizhol”, which the vassals of the Upper Treviso area offered “by the bucket or half-bucket, for household use but not for taverns or merchants”, and for which they pleaded for a “charitable” reduction in the extra levies demanded by the lords. The matter dragged on until the Venetian Republic accepted their petition, confirming the existing, and relatively mild, taxation. It is a micro-history of the past that ripples through the grand narrative of the present. As if time was suspended. In fact, that distant show of strength in the Venetian valley (where in the 18th century Verdiso began to be produced, contributing to the creation of Prosecco with its now cosmopolitan bubbles) echoes a very different tariff conflict today, one that has ended free trade and triggered a race to raise customs barriers on everything, including wine products. Like a recurring calamity, the heirs of those winemakers now find themselves anxious over a similar, yet far more complex, issue, without the advantage of appealing to a nearby and fair court like that of the Doges. Today, like countless others, they face not a modest local dispute but a global and destabilizing trade war, driven by hegemonic and despotic powers. Empires focused on making ever more money, even if it means brutally taking it from others, denying equal identity even to longtime allies. Everything connects when one thinks of wine, expressed through the infinite dialects of Italy’s many small homelands. Each place name is a brand, often glorious. Myths and legends overlap in a geography stretching from the Alps to Sicily, encompassing them both. With different feelings and memories, yes, but strikingly similar when comparing tradition and innovation: the marginal, struggling existence of rural families in the past versus the euphoric golden age that has flourished in recent decades. One must also consider the semiotics of the Italian landscape. a widespread museum, with signs and traces marking human civilization at specific moments, like the combed geometries of vineyards that, in many areas, have preserved the harmonious views and breath of a nativity scene. And we mustn’t overlook the weight of certain variables that emerged in the 20th century and now threaten the art of making and preserving wine: violent climate shifts, biodiversity endangered by chemicals, water scarcity, and land desertification. A daunting horizon that nonetheless compels winemakers to resist, in line with the paradigm of growth, according to the codes of an evolving economy in which Italy has earned a string of leaderships, not just commercial, but tied to lifestyle, taste, and culture. Here lies the political point. Many Italian wineries, large and small, fear that the arrival of new tariffs will wipe out their hard-won success. The eternal rhetoric of decline. The effect of millenarian catastrophism (“we’ll all shut down”) spread by mass-media. An exaggeration. A confused suggestion to be exorcised, while the real uncertainties may come from within the wine system itself, which “unfortunately never seems to have evolved into structures capable of facing global markets… a matter of business culture”. In this way, Sandro Boscaini supports, a pioneer of Amarone from Valpolicella and president of Masi Agricola, long-time leader of Federvini and someone with the experience to draw conclusions, however provisional. His reflection offers some comfort and entrusts the entire supply chain with the responsibility to move forward together in cultivating, vinifying, and marketing products that are already of the highest technical quality without betraying their origins. Now, if globalization doesn’t necessarily mean loss of identity (or at least shouldn’t), a spontaneous question arises: will there still be room, in a world already dominated by sophisticated wine marketing, streaming tours among barrels, and iconic wine bars crowded with demanding wine communities, for the beloved old taverns? It may be sentimentalism from backward-looking nostalgics, but the author knows that convivial life, and much literature, once flowed from the habit of meeting others in those cellars and taverns, now often exiled to the outskirts and thus rare. It was “the civilization of the ombretta and singing in taverns, where people philosophize about nothing and pass down village chronicles”, said Venetian poet Andrea Zanzotto, who loved to frequent taverns with visiting friends like Goffredo Parise and Gigi Meneghello. Incidentally, about forty years ago, I accompanied him to a village near Valmarino, where he wanted to join a debate with one of the last descendants of the Brandolini dynasty about feudal relations with ancient laborers. And it was there, thanks to the archival research of a local scholar, that the centuries-old story of wine and tariffs resurfaced. A battle won by the peasants.