BolognaFiere increasingly becoming a hub for small wine producers, between Slow Wine Fair and Fivi

BolognaFiere has been investing in wine for years and is increasingly becoming a hub for the galaxy of small Italian producers and wine artisans. It first did so through its partnership with Slow Wine Fair and Slow Food, which this year has been further strengthened with the addition of Presìdi and Slow Food at Sana Food, the organic food fair (with the two events taking place simultaneously in Bologna from February 22 to 24, 2026). It then did so with Fivi-Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti (Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers), which brings together over 1,700 members from all over Italy and has been staging the Mercato dei Vini (Wine Market), its most important event, at BolognaFiere for the last three editions, as it will also do in 2025, from November 15 to 17, and will continue to do so until 2028, given that the Federation, which represents thousands of small producers who follow the entire supply chain, from the vineyard to the shelf, and the Bologna fair, have renewed an agreement for the next three years.
“We are proud to confirm BolognaFiere as the home of Vignaioli Indipendenti until 2028. The Wine Market is an event that combines quality, culture, and passion, and which enriches our city every year with an attentive and knowledgeable audience. This renewal strengthens a collaboration that promotes the region and the work of Italian producers, helping to make BolognaFiere a point of reference for the wine sector and wine tourism”, commented BolognaFiere President Gianpiero Calzolari.
All eyes are now on the 14th edition of the Vignaioli Indipendenti Wine Market (tickets are already available online), which will feature 1,000 winegrowers from every region of Italy, along with three delegations of European winegrowers representing national associations belonging to Cevi - Confédération Européenne des Vignerons Indépendants, and 32 members of Fioi - Federazione Italiana Olivicoltori Indipendenti. “We can’t wait to reopen the doors of the Wine Market to welcome our audience of enthusiasts and operators and, for three days, have fun with them”, explains Rita Babini, president of Fivi. “I say this with a smile on my lips and with the right lightheartedness, and it is not a provocation, far from it. Wine is lightness, but sometimes it carries a heavy burden. Wine is for everyone, but too often it has been portrayed as something exclusive, and therefore exclusionary. Wine is pleasure, surprising because it is ephemeral, but despite itself it is loaded with meanings that make it incomprehensible. To paraphrase my fellow countryman Arrigo Sacchi, who was obviously talking about soccer, wine is the most important of the least important things. So, we winemakers want to try to put wine back in its place: a farm product that can rise to nobility, but without losing sight of what it is and where it comes from. And we are the right people to do it, because we know everything about wine: the land and the vineyard, the presses and the barrels, who sells it and who consumes it. At the Wine Market, producers, sellers, consumers, and enthusiasts can look each other in the eye, stop to reflect, and share a new path. There is no other place where this small revolution can take place”.