VitiNord 2025 Brings the Global Cool-Climate Wine Community to Vilnius
VitiNord 2025, the world’s leading conference on cold-climate viticulture and enology, will be held in Vilnius from 3 to 6 December 2025. More than 200 experts, researchers, growers, winemakers and industry leaders will gather at the Park Plaza Hotel Vilnius, turning the city into a global hub for innovation in northern grape growing and wine production. This will be the first time VitiNord takes place in the Baltic States.
VitiNord 2025, the world’s leading conference on cold-climate viticulture and enology, will be held in Vilnius from 3 to 6 December 2025. More than 200 experts, researchers, growers, winemakers and industry leaders will gather at the Park Plaza Hotel Vilnius, turning the city into a global hub for innovation in northern grape growing and wine production. This will be the first time VitiNord takes place in the Baltic States.
A Global Platform for the Strong Legacy
Since 2006, VitiNord has rotated between Europe and North America every three years, becoming the leading international platform for sharing scientific insights, technical developments and practical experience in cool-climate winemaking. Hosting the conference in Vilnius highlights Lithuania’s growing role in northern viticulture and reflects the city’s increasing visibility as a modern, open and culturally rich setting for international scientific and industry gatherings.
Lithuanian Viticulture: A New Northern Story
Lithuanian viticulture has evolved remarkably in recent years. Officially recognized as an EU farming category only four years ago, the country now has more than 50 hectares of vineyards and a growing community of producers working at the very limits of cold-climate grape growing. Winter temperatures can fall below –25°C, and late-spring and early-autumn frosts often shorten the growing season – yet growers continue to adapt and innovate.
Producers have long relied on hardy hybrid varieties developed in Lithuania and neighbouring countries, but in recent years, European varieties and American hybrids have begun to take root as well. Solaris has become the most widely planted white variety, while others such as Adalmiina and St. Pepin are gaining attention for their fresh, aromatic profiles. Experimentation with Riesling and Chardonnay is increasing too, particularly in milder coastal and central regions. Among red varieties, hybrids such as Marquette and Marechal Foch remain dominant, although their naturally high acidity requires thoughtful winemaking.
Despite strong annual weather variability – from the warm, sunny 2024 season that produced exceptional wines to the cooler, frost-affected 2025 vintage – Lithuania’s growers continue pushing the boundaries of what northern viticulture can achieve. Alongside grape wines, producers such as Geri Metai are also preserving distinctive local traditions, crafting unique beverages like their one-of-a-kind rowan wine.
“Lithuania’s viticulture may still be young, but its progress is extraordinary,” says Arūnas Starkus, editor of Vyno žurnalas, Lithuanian Wine Championship Commissioner, and speaker at VitiNord 2025. “We are working at the very edge of what is climatically possible. Yet each year growers prove that even in harsh northern conditions, innovation and resilience can yield wines of real character.”
Shaping the Future of Cold-Climate Winemaking
The 2025 programme will bring together leading voices in cool-climate viticulture, including Erica Duecy, founder of Business of Drinks; Dr. Juha Karvonen, a specialist in cold-climate adaptation; and renowned grape breeder Tom Plocher.
Over four days, delegates will explore key topics such as climate adaptation, sustainability, sparkling wine production, soil health, disease resistance, and consumer trends. The programme will be complemented by tastings, practical workshops and a technical tour to Lithuanian vineyards.
Collaboration, Innovation and a New Northern Hub
Delegates from more than 20 countries will gather in Vilnius, highlighting the city’s growing role as a regional center for scientific exchange and innovation in cool-climate viticulture.
Vilnius offers a compact, creative and welcoming setting where people can easily connect and share ideas – a fitting environment for a conference focused on pushing the boundaries of northern winemaking.
Additional information is available at www.vitinord2025.vitinord.org.