The Festival

A selection dedicated to products that have reached the peak of their award bracket: labels whose quality touches the highest recognition and which, with one small step further, can claim the Platinum Award.

Every harvest and every vintage brings unrepeatable conditions – and with them, the form and very essence of each product changes. It is in this living balance that true greatness is measured: the ability to evolve, refine, and surprise, year after year.

Here you will meet producers whose creations are ready to defend the Platinum Award they have earned, alongside excellences that could reach it at the next edition: tomorrow’s summit, tasted today.

Culinaria is the GourmetArena’s area entirely dedicated to the tasting path Food, Spirits & Beer – where excellence and creativity merge into a single experience.

Here, the public can embark on a sensory journey through gastronomic specialties, spirits, and beers from across Italy. Each one tells the story of its land through premium raw materials and unique interpretations. Every creation is born at the intersection of tradition and innovation, driven by the passion of artisans and producers who transform taste into culture and flavour into narrative.

Within Culinaria there is Territorium & Consortium, a space dedicated to the country’s gastronomic excellence presented by Italian consortia and regional organizations, including Abruzzo and Campania.

An experience celebrating quality in all its forms, turning every bite into a moment of discovery and pleasure – enriched by live showcooking, where stories move straight from the land into the glass and onto the plate.

Some products can be purchased directly from producers in the GourmetArena – a way to take home a piece of this unique experience.

The Merano WineFestival opens with a single gesture: the blade slides along the neck of the bottle, the cork flies, the foam draws an arc over the Passer. On Saturday 7 November at 14:00, on the Lenoir footbridge – the walkway linking the Kurhaus promenade to the Hotel Terme Merano – thirty-five bottles are opened by sabre, one after another, in a single sequence.

One sabrage for every edition: thirty-five years of excellence, celebrated as an anniversary deserves – in the open air, in the heart of the town, in front of everyone. Producers, guests and friends of the festival line up along the bridge and open the day together, in full view of anyone strolling along the river.

Right afterwards, the freshly opened bottles are shared with the public: the first toast of the thirty-fifth edition belongs to those who are there on the bridge with us.