The summer of 2025 will be remembered in Italy as a season of unprecedented turmoil in the wine and agri-food sector – and, for once, it's not down to the weather, tariffs or the woes of the international wine trade.
From the vineyards of Piedmont to the cellars of Puglia and Sicily, police carried out a string of operations that exposed illegal labor practices, fraudulent wine bottlings and international scams involving protected designations of origin.
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At the same time, Lombardy witnessed the financial collapse of its largest wine cooperative, Terre d'Oltrepò, which was forced into compulsory liquidation after years of mounting debts. That crisis was compounded by a dramatic fire in one of the region's vineyard areas, a reminder of the fragility of an already battered territory.
These events unfolded under the watch of the newly created Cabina di Regia, the coordination body established by the Ministry of Agriculture to harmonize inspections across agencies. Its mission: protect consumers and safeguard Italy's agri-food heritage.
Among the most significant legal changes shaping the summer was the draft law introducing the crime of "food fraud", expanding the range of punishable deceptive conduct to include all parties involved in the food supply chain. Actions that cause harm to consumers in terms of origin, quality, or quantity of food products will now be sanctioned more severely.
The legislation also introduces the specific offense of "Trade in food with false labeling", to combat deceptive practices relating to product information. The offense of "agropiracy" has been defined to target those who, through multiple operations and in an organized and continuous manner, commit fraud against purchasers of food products.
Northern exposure
Another fundamental aspect concerns the protection of Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Protected Designations of Origin (PDO). The bill provides stricter measures to safeguard these designations, with penalties for counterfeiting and misuse of trademarks. The aim is to ensure that PDO and PGI products are genuinely produced in accordance with national and European regulations, strengthening the backbone of Italy's wine identity.
The first major operations of the season came in Piedmont, where police discovered exploitative labor conditions in two wineries in the province of Asti.
In Bubbio and Loazzolo, inspectors found dozens of workers employed without contracts during the harvest. Many were migrants, underpaid and housed in precarious conditions. The investigations led to fines and the suspension of part of the vineyards' activities, marking one of the first significant applications of the Cabina di Regia's monitoring framework.
The crackdown soon extended to Tuscany. In Massa, a producer in the steep slopes of the Candia Hills – an area known for its "heroic viticulture" – was fined after inspectors revealed workers hired off the books. The case underscored the contradictions between Italy's image of artisanal excellence and the persistent exploitation of vulnerable labor in certain corners of the sector.
Southern scam
While northern regions dealt with labor exploitation, the south became the stage of wine fraud on an industrial scale.
In early September, police seized 1500 quintals of wine – equivalent to 150,000 liters – in Lecce, Puglia. The products carried false indications of origin, misleading consumers about their provenance.
Just days later, an even larger case emerged in Foggia. Authorities confiscated more than 1.3 million liters of "phantom" red wine. Investigators determined that the liquid was stored without traceability, documentation or authorization, raising suspicions it was destined for unlawful sale. The discovery highlighted systemic weaknesses that allow vast amounts of wine to circulate outside legal frameworks, with grave consequences for Italy's reputation abroad.
As police operations multiplied, the Italian wine world was shaken by the financial implosion of Terre d'Oltrepò. With more than a thousand members and control over extensive vineyard areas, the cooperative had long been a cornerstone of Lombardy's Oltrepò Pavese. Years of debt, managerial missteps and failed restructurings culminated in September with the declaration of compulsory liquidation.
Under Italian law, the measure liquidazione coatta amministrativa is reserved for cooperatives whose survival is deemed impossible. It entails the appointment of a commissioner by the Ministry of Enterprises, stripping management of all powers. For Terre d'Oltrepò, it marked the end of an era, while judicial inquiries may determine responsibilities for its downfall.
The crisis unfolded against the backdrop of another dramatic event in Oltrepò Pavese: a fire in a vineyard in Zenevredo belonging to the De Filippi family. Flames swept through the area of I Gessi, a zone with chalky soils considered among the most prized of the district. Fortunately, no lives were lost, though local producer admitted that "someone could have died". The incident underscored the vulnerability of the region's viticulture at a moment when its flagship cooperative was collapsing
Together, the fire and liquidation symbolized the fragility of a territory struggling to redefine itself after decades of failed attempts to emerge as a stable and credible wine district
Even as Italy confronted domestic scandals, another investigation revealed the global dimension of wine fraud. In late September, Carabinieri units in Rome and Messina, coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office of Marsala, uncovered an international scheme involving fake Zibibbo di Pantelleria.
Authorities seized 5000 liters of wine on the island of Pantelleria, including 1500 liters already bottled and labeled as Zibibbo di Pantelleria DOC and Terre Siciliane IGT. The wine was traced to a German company that, since 2019, had marketed at least 30,000 bottles falsely presented as Zibibbo of Pantelleria. Investigators estimated profits exceeding €800,000 ($940,000).
The bottles were sold not only in Italy and Europe but also in overseas markets including the United States, Canada, Japan and Taiwan, but the company held no authorization to produce or market wines under the Pantelleria designation. Labels were fabricated in blatant violation of EU rules on protected designations of origin. Authorities stressed that defending designations such as Zibibbo di Pantelleria is crucial to maintaining the integrity of "Made in Italy" abroad.
The sequence of all these events painted a stark picture of the challenges facing Italy's wine sector in 2025. Labor exploitation, fraudulent bottlings and financial instability are not isolated anomalies but interconnected symptoms of deeper structural weaknesses.
Beyond police raids and financial collapses, the summer of 2025 also highlighted significant movements in the corporate landscape of Italian wine. In July, the Puglian winery Torrevento announced its exit from Prosit Group, one of Italy’s most ambitious private wine holding companies. The divorce signaled the growing difficulties in maintaining large, centralized corporate structures in an industry still rooted in regional identity and fragmented ownership.
At the same time, other players sought strength through new alliances. Veraison Group, a private equity fund already active in the sector, entered into a strategic partnership with Vallebelbo, a cooperative based in Piedmont with around 160 members and 500 hectares under vine. The move aims to combine financial resources with local expertise, ensuring competitiveness in increasingly globalized markets.
Italy's wine industry emerges from the summer of 2025 with deep scars, but also with signs of hope.
The 2025 harvest in Italy is projected to total 47.4 million hectoliters, marking an 8 percent increase over 2024 and a return to volumes closer to the five-year average. While yields grow, the quality outlook is also positive: grapes are generally healthy, and many regions anticipate a "very good" or "excellent" vintage.
Yet risks remain – climatic variability, high production and input costs, market tensions and US tariffs may pressure returns for many producers.
