Summary
Irresistibile Piwi is Italy's first and, to date, only wine festival entirely dedicated to fungus-resistant grape varieties — the so-called Piwi, from the German Pilzwiderstandsfähige Rebsorten. Launched in 2024 and now in its third edition, the event takes place on 26–27 April 2026 at the Dogana Veneta in Lazise (Verona), a 14th-century Venetian customs building on Lake Garda. Organized by enologists Luca De Palma, active in Ticino at Chiericati Vini, and Igor Bonvento, a Verona-based vineyard consultant certified as a Biodiversity Friend and working with Piwi varieties since 2009, the festival unites over 60 producers, more than 180 labels, masterclasses, experimental microvinification tastings, breeding showcases, and a formal scientific congress. Entry is free; a paid tasting kit is optional.
The backdrop is consequential. Italy's Testo Unico del Vino (Law 238/2016) restricts Piwi varieties to IGT-level wines, despite the EU having authorized their use in PDO appellations in December 2021. Seven Italian regions — Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Abruzzo — have authorized cultivation. CREA data referenced by the OIV estimates the planted area at approximately 3,600 hectares as of 2025, nearly double the 2022 figure of 2,000 hectares. The Veneto alone accounts for 630 hectares and 94 producers. The festival doubles as a policy pressure point, with its congress addressing regulatory reform, the "French model" of controlled appellation trials, and the institutional resistance blocking wider adoption. A significant undercurrent the organizers do not dwell on: recent research shows 48% of Piwi producers already report serious difficulties selling their wines.
Our take
Irresistibile Piwi is not merely a trade fair; it is an argument dressed in wine glasses. The organizers' claim that Piwi skepticism has already "faded" is advocacy, not fact — and the market data contradicts them directly. Nearly half of Italian Piwi producers cannot sell what they grow. Italy's dominant consortia, particularly those anchored to single-varietal identities built on pure Vitis vinifera genetics, have no intention of diluting their brand with interspecific hybrids, and they have law and market precedent firmly on their side. The festival is a well-organized lobbying event that mistakes enthusiasm for evidence.
About the publisher
Irresistibile Piwi is self-published promotional content produced by Irresistibile S.A.S., the private company owned and operated by De Palma and Bonvento. No editorial independence exists. De Palma openly states on the site that he sees organic viticulture as "hypocritical" and institutional rigidity as an obstacle — positions that are legitimate but disqualify any claim to neutral information. The festival's media partners are specialist Piwi advocacy outlets. Every page is organized promotion.