Slow Food’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil Guide 2026 Comes to Lake Garda

Quick Facts

  • Event Name: Guida agli Extravergini 2026 – Slow Food
  • Dates: April 10–12, 2026
  • Location: Torri del Benaco, Lake Garda (Lungolago and Cinema Teatro)
  • Cost: Festa dell’Olio free entry; Laboratori del Gusto require booking (limited seats)
  • Hours: Saturday April 11: 15:00–18:00 / Sunday April 12: 10:00–18:00
  • Parking: Available in Torri del Benaco; arriving by ferry or public transport is practical given the lakefront location
  • Best Time to Visit: The full weekend April 11–12 for the market and tastings; April 10 for restaurant events

Each spring, Slow Food releases its Guida agli Extravergini — Italy’s most authoritative annual guide to extra virgin olive oils — and in 2026 the national launch event takes place in Torri del Benaco, a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Garda with centuries of olive-growing history. The occasion is two days of public events, producer meetings, and guided tastings, all centered on the lakefront.

Festa dell’Olio – Villaggio degli Olivi

The heart of the weekend is the open-air market on the Lungolago di Torri del Benaco, running Saturday April 11 (15:00–18:00) and Sunday April 12 (10:00–18:00). Producers featured in the Guida will be there in person — you can taste their oils directly and buy on the spot, which is a genuinely useful way to cut through the noise and find bottles worth bringing home.

Beyond oil, the market also features local Garda products: wines, saffron, jams, honey, and lemons, several carrying the De.Co. designation of Torri del Benaco — a municipal certification for products tied to the town’s agricultural identity.

Laboratori del Gusto – Guided Tastings

Five ticketed tasting sessions run across the weekend at the Lungolago. Seats are limited and booking is required. The lineup covers a good range — from regional northern lake oils to heroic mountain production and the bold southern cultivars:

  • I vini del Lago di Garda – curated by Angelo Peretti. Friday April 10, 18:00
  • Gli oli dei laghi del Nord: finezza e microclimi – Oils from Garda, Iseo, Como and Maggiore. Saturday April 11, 15:30
  • Varietà minori, caratteri maggiori – Lesser-known cultivars with strong local character. Saturday April 11, 17:00
  • Olivicoltura eroica: oli da terre difficili – Oils from steep terraces and high-altitude groves where harvesting is still largely manual. Sunday April 12, 11:00
  • Custodi di biodiversità: gli oli dei Presìdi – Slow Food Presidia olive varieties and the communities protecting them. Sunday April 12, 15:30
  • Le grandi regine del Sud – The flagship cultivars of Puglia, Calabria, Campania and Sicily. Sunday April 12, 17:00

Restaurant Events and Show Cooking

From Friday April 10 through Sunday April 12, a selection of local restaurants will offer themed menus built around extra virgin olive oil. The full list of participating venues will be published on the Slow Food website from March 27. The Show Cooking session — also at the Molo De Paoli — features chef Vanessa Lorenzetti working with radicchio di Verona IGP as the main ingredient.

National Presentation – By Invitation

On Saturday April 11, the Cinema Teatro di Torri del Benaco hosts the official national launch of the Guida agli Extravergini 2026, with the presentation of special mentions, Presìdi Slow Food certificates, and the awards for Chiocciola, Grande Olio Slow, and Grande Olio. This part of the event is invite-only, but for context: the Chiocciola is Slow Food’s top mark for producers who combine oil quality with full adherence to Slow Food values — it’s a meaningful distinction if you’re buying.

Getting to Torri del Benaco

Torri del Benaco sits on the eastern (Veronese) shore of Lake Garda, about 30 km from Verona. The town is small and the lakefront is walkable, so once you’re there everything is on foot. If you’re coming from the western shore, the car ferry from Maderno is a practical option and saves driving around the lake.

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