ON SUNDAY, 17 MAY, THE INITIATIVE, NOW IN ITS TENTH EDITION, WAS HELD AT THE CASTLE OF GRINZANE CAVOUR, CELEBRATING THE COMMITMENT BEHIND THE VITICULTURAL BEAUTY RECOGNISED AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE. GUEST OF HONOR WAS LA CITÉ DU VIN OF BORDEAUX, WITH NUMEROUS AWARDS PRESENTED

A moment of reflection and exchange among industry professionals, but above all an opportunity to keep attention alive on the recognition of the Vineyard Landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. With this spirit, the Homage was created: “Langhe-Roero and Monferrato: Waves of beauty and cultivated geometries in the landscapes and villages of wine”, now in its tenth edition, held on Sunday, 17 May at the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, home of the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour.

The Homage aims to enhance the work and the people who, with dedication and expertise, contribute to generating the extraordinary viticultural beauty recognized as a World Heritage Site. An initiative that also seeks to encourage among winegrowers a virtuous spirit of emulation, capable of strengthening attention toward landscape care and the pursuit of beauty, as distinctive and identity-defining elements of the territory.

The 2026 edition — after celebrating over the years some of the most significant wine landscapes in the world — paid tribute to the wine region of Bordeaux. The Bordeaux wine area represents one of the great global references of wine culture: a territory shaped over centuries by the encounter between nature, human knowledge and international trade. Its vineyards, organized around the great rivers Garonne, Dordogne and Gironde, tell a story made of terroir, traditions, classifications and a continuous dialogue between landscape and human labour.

Within this context stands La Cité du Vin, a contemporary symbol of Bordeaux’s wine identity and a universal gateway to the world of wine. Not merely museum, but a place of storytelling and experience, where wine is interpreted as a shared cultural heritage capable of uniting territories, civilizations and generations. La Cité du Vin thus restores the profound meaning of wine as an expression of landscape, culture and community, reinforcing the bond between Bordeaux and its global wine vocation.

Awards presented to the hillside slopes

Hence the well-deserved recognition, for this 10th edition, to the winegrowers and municipal administrations who together care for the most beautiful vineyard hillside slopes of Barolo (Bricco Ambrogio in the Municipality of Roddi), Barbaresco (San Stunet in the Municipality of Treiso), Dolcetto d’Alba (Madonna di Como in the Municipality of Alba), Roero (Trono in the Municipality of Castagnito), Moscato d’Asti (Sollito-Rovere in the Municipality of Cossano Belbo), Barbera d’Asti (Località Baina in the Municipalities of Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Albugnano and Pino d’Asti), Grignolino d’Asti (Località Variglie in the Municipality of Asti), Alta Langa (Municipality of Bossolasco), Gavi (Strada dei due Castelli in the Municipalities of Francavilla Bisio and Tassarolo) and Timorasso (Strada Loira in the Municipalities of Berzano di Tortona and Viguzzolo).

A special recognition was dedicated to the foreign workers who have been working on our hills for many years. This year, Albert Xhihalli was awarded for his important example of successful integration and ethical sense of duty.

The Homage, thanks to the organization of the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour in collaboration with the Consortia for the Protection of the Wines of the territory, the Association for the Heritage of the Vineyard Landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato, and with the support of the Piedmont Region, the Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo Foundation and the Banca d’Alba, presents a proud local identity, deeply rooted in the hills of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato and founded on the belief in UNESCO recognition.

The event was characterized by the presence of tasting counters of the producers participating in the project “Short Supply Chain in the UNESCO Castle,” with tastings paired with the prestigious wines of the territory, aimed at encouraging the development of short supply chains in local markets, promoted by the Piedmont Region and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2023–2027, through intervention SRG07.1.

“The Homage represents an event to which we are deeply attached – comments Roberto Bodrito, President of the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour -, because it was born from the desire to enhance not only the extraordinary beauty of the Vineyard Landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato recognized as a World Heritage Site protected by UNESCO, but above all the work, dedication and sense of responsibility of those who safeguard those landscapes every day. Having reached the tenth edition, we are proud to see how this initiative continues to grow, strengthening among winegrowers the positive feeling of emulation and contributing to spreading an ever-greater attention toward respect for the landscape and the pursuit of beauty”.

 “The dialogue with a symbolic reality such as Bordeaux and with the Cité du Vin, an international reference point for wine culture, also represents a valuable opportunity for exchange between territories that share the same awareness – underline Alberto Gatto, Mayor of Alba, and Gianfranco Garau, Mayor of Grinzane Cavour and Vice-Presidents of the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour —: wine is not only production, but an authentic expression of identity, culture and community. Particularly significant was, finally, the awarding of recognition to the foreign worker: a concrete testimony of a heritage built over time thanks to the commitment of generations and the contribution of people coming from different backgrounds, united by care and dedication toward these extraordinary places”.