Merano's distinction is curation: producers do not buy a stand, they are selected by a tasting commission, and the result is a smaller fair than Vinitaly with a markedly different character — held in the art nouveau Kurhaus and the spa buildings of a South Tyrolean resort rather than in exhibition halls.
Alongside wine it runs culinaria, bio&dynamica for organic and natural production, and a spirits section.
No attendance figure is recorded here in this pass.
The month is November, occasionally misfiled in October. Merano sits in a valley north of Bolzano with the Dolomites around it; at that point in the year it is between the walking and the ski seasons, so the town is quiet apart from the festival and the accommodation, much of it spa hotels, is obtainable.
PlanningEarly November, not October. Producers are selected, not self-registering, which is the point.