By Our Editorial Staff
The event returns to Sansepolcro on 24 and 25 October, with Saturday’s programme taking over the town and a special show by Alessandro Ristori. Italian excellence selected by Luca Gardini will share the spotlight with local labels. “We believe the wine industry has a future here too,” says event co-founder Tommaso Inghirami.
Following the success of its first edition, B.E.V.I. returns to Sansepolcro with an even richer programme. The acronym stands for Borgo Eccellenze Vinicole Italiane, an event created to showcase outstanding Italian wines while also opening up new prospects for the wine industry in the Tuscan-Umbrian Upper Tiber Valley. The event will once again take place on the last weekend of October, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25.
Once again, the spotlight will be on one hundred prestigious Italian wineries selected by Luca Gardini, one of the world’s leading figures in wine evaluation and communication. Alongside Gardini and the Municipality of Sansepolcro – with Mayor Fabrizio Innocenti personally involved – two other key figures form the backbone of B.E.V.I.: Cristiano Cini, President of AIS Toscana and Director of Wine TV, and Tommaso Inghirami, a wine entrepreneur who lives in Sansepolcro and is one of the event’s founders.
After devoting himself to his family estate, Fattoria di Grignano, in the hills of Florence, Tommaso Inghirami decided to invest once again in the Valtiberina, the land of his origins. Here he began a project to recover and enhance vineyards more than fifty years old, with the aim of breathing new life into a valuable winemaking heritage that is still largely waiting to be discovered.“My project,” Inghirami explains, “was born from the desire to establish the Valtiberina as a land of wine too, highlighting its history, landscape and the characteristics that can make it a wine-growing area of great interest.”
It is within this same vision that Borgo Eccellenze Vinicole Italiane was created, through the collaboration of Tommaso Inghirami, Luca Gardini and the Municipality of Sansepolcro. Its aim is to bring some of the leading names in Italian winemaking to Sansepolcro while creating an opportunity for dialogue that can draw attention to local producers and the potential of the area. “This year, five wineries from the Valtiberina will represent the area,” Inghirami adds, “telling the story of its identity and character through their wines. It is a territory still waiting to be discovered, but thanks to its altitude, the particular characteristics of its terroir and its Apennine climate, it offers potentially favourable conditions for producing wines of great personality and quality.”
Wine celebrities – and show business – in a town transformed by B.E.V.I.
There are several new features for the 2026 edition, starting with its distinguished guests. On the afternoon of Saturday 24 October, the stage of Teatro Dante will host a tribute to two major names in the world of wine: Piero Antinori, a member of the renowned Florentine family that has been producing wine for more than 600 years, and Giuseppe Mascarello, representing the celebrated Piedmontese winery known for its Barolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Langhe Freisa and Langhe Nebbiolo. The evening will then feature a show by Alessandro Ristori, the singer and performer renowned for his vintage style inspired by the Italian Dolce Vita and rock ’n’ roll.
The real innovation this year, however, lies in the importance given to Saturday, which becomes a full day of events and a true immersion of Sansepolcro in the B.E.V.I. atmosphere. The programme will include tastings, aperitifs, art and photography exhibitions – including one by Riccardo Lorenzi – as well as live painting with wine on canvases along Via XX Settembre and impromptu artistic performances organised in collaboration with the Compagnia Artisti. Everything will take place within the historic town walls. The afternoon programme will include masterclasses at the Santa Chiara Auditorium and talk shows on local and Italian wines in the conference room of the Dionisio Roberti Municipal Library.
Highlighting the close relationship that has developed between B.E.V.I. and the town itself, participating restaurants and venues in the historic centre will each “adopt” a producer and/or artist during lunch, creating a dish or aperitif inspired by their product.On Sunday 25 October, the focus will shift to the Borgo Palace Hotel, where all the producers will come together for the main tasting sessions.
Wines from the valley
From well-established wineries to recently launched projects, the area crossed by the Tiber is proving increasingly committed to improving the quality of wines that express the identity of a land traditionally known above all for tobacco cultivation. A new generation is playing a leading role. This is certainly true of Francesca Del Morino and Simone Dori of Società Agricola Aliotti in Caprese Michelangelo, now celebrating ten years in business. Their work is successfully represented by their Pinot Nero and Chardonnay, grown in sandy loam soil with a high presence of galestro, which lends minerality and savoury notes to wines that have developed their own identity on the Italian market.
In nearby Anghiari, one of the area’s key wineries is that of Davide Del Gaia, who took over from his father Milton. Over the past thirty years, the estate has made a significant leap forward in quality, accompanied by the renovation of its facilities. Alongside Podere Volterrena – a Sangiovese red – Milton, a Merlot red, and Roncione, a white blend, Del Gaia has introduced the Rosè di Sangiovese, officially unveiled at B.E.V.I. last year.
Since 2025, Pieve Santo Stefano has also had its own winery. Ombraluce, founded by agronomist Enrico Bigiarini and Daniele Para, is focusing on the recovery of old Sangiovese vineyards and the cultivation of a new Pinot Nero vineyard. Its only bottled wine so far is Chicchi Neri, a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo, while its Pinot Nero is still maturing and will require a little more patience.
Crossing into neighbouring Umbria, in the municipality of San Giustino, Tenuta Montione has become a well-established name. In the hamlet of Celalba, husband and wife Romina Sgoluppi and Alessandro Zazzi have been producing wines for around ten years. Their labels include NatoRe, an Umbria Rosso Sangiovese; AnimoRosa, a rosé as its name suggests; and Vignale, a Chardonnay. All carry the IGT designation and have already achieved considerable recognition. The true pioneer of winemaking in the valley, however, is La Palerna, founded by Paola Biagioli and her husband Luigi Merendelli, and now celebrating 24 years in business. Its vineyards are located at an altitude of 600 metres above San Giustino. It was here that some of the first Pinot Nero and Sangiovese Grosso wines in the Upper Tiber Valley were produced, together with traditional-method sparkling wine.
The winery’s range includes Nudo di Palerna, Cimento – a Pinot Nero – Rosa di Martino, Cospaia 1441, Rossovaldimonte and Pinot Nero Palerna. These have now been joined by the 2024 Rossovaldimonte, a Sangiovese made without ageing in wood and with no added sulphites, produced in collaboration with Aboca. Finally, Marcello Medici will attend B.E.V.I. in the dual role of artist and wine producer. His watercolours will be exhibited in the exhibition rooms of Palazzo Pretorio, while Oca Rossa is the name of his wine, produced from the vineyard in Gragnano.
Info: https://bevi-eccellenze.com – Tickets available on TicketOne