Pasqua Wines Unveils Fifth Edition of Hey French and Honors Verona’s Cultural Heritage

The winery unveils the latest edition of one of its most radical and commercially successful wines and reinforces its ties to its hometown by supporting Estate Teatrale Veronese 2026

Verona, March 18, 2026 - On the occasion of the annual press conference held at the Museo Archeologico at Teatro Romano, Pasqua Wines, the Verona-based winery celebrated for its iconic and award-winning wines, unveils its latest initiatives, combining the launch of the fifth edition of Hey French: You Could Have Made It But You Didn’t and its sponsorship of the Estate Teatrale Veronese 2026.

The Fifth Edition of Hey French: Pasqua’s Radical Project and Global Success

At the core of Pasqua Wines is an unmistakable commitment to creativity and innovation. Hey French: You Could Have Made It But You Didn’t represents the boldest expression of the winery’s experimental spirit. Combining technical mastery, artistic vision, and fearless nonconformity, this radical project pushes the boundaries of winemaking and redefines what wine can be.

The annual press conference provided the perfect occasion to unveil the fifth edition, highlighting its evolution and global impact. Since its first release, Hey French has impressed critics with a unique multi-vintage blending technique, rarely used in Italy for still wines. Its provocative name signals a challenge to traditional conventions, while its craftsmanship reflects a playful, boundary-pushing spirit.

Over time, the multi-vintage blend has grown in depth and global recognition. In 2025, the label doubled its global revenue among Pasqua’s Icons portfolio, driven by strategic markets including Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Each edition of Hey French is not just a reflection of the vintages but also a site-specific work that interprets the exceptional potential of Monte Calvarina (with parcels at 500 meters above sea level) through the winemaker’s philosophy. The fifth edition blends six vintages (2020, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2024, and 2015) using a joint maceration technique (from 2019 onwards), followed by 6–8 months of aging in barriques and tonneaux, and additional refinement in stainless steel before final blending. The result is a wine of remarkable complexity and aging potential.

Hey French You Could Have Made It, But You Didn’t, 5th Edition stands out for a bouquet of exotic fruit, chamomile, and sage, complemented by rose buds, with a complex palate revealing almond notes from Garganega, herbaceous hints from Sauvignon Blanc, and subtle volcanic minerality, inviting a second full sip.

Riccardo Pasqua, CEO of Pasqua Wines, comments: "With the fifth edition of Hey French, we take another step in our innovation journey. The six-vintage blend interacts and strengthens each other, creating a truly unique and contemporary expression. This project started with a bold idea but could only take shape through the daily, passionate work of our team. It is proof that vision, skill, sensitivity, and dedication are what transform creativity into creation."

Celebrating Verona’s Cultural Heritage

Pasqua Wines has strategically chosen to focus its cultural investments on Verona, joining the list of sponsors for the upcoming Estate Teatrale Veronese, while also continuing its support of the 67 Colonne project at the Arena di Verona—launched in 2021 by Fondazione Arena di Verona to sustain artistic activities at one of the city’s, and the world’s, most iconic cultural landmarks.

Riccardo Pasqua, CEO of Pasqua Wines, explains: "We are proud to support the Estate Teatrale Veronese at Verona’s Teatro Romano, a landmark that embodies the history and identity of our city—a place my family and I hold dear. Through this collaboration, we reaffirm our winery’s commitment not only to being a leader on the international wine stage but also an active contributor to the cultural growth of our region. Just as in art, nurturing ideas, helping them grow, and transforming them into experiences is what drives us to experiment and innovate, giving voice to new visions and perspectives for the world of wine."

To foster this venture, Pasqua Wines asked Hey French label artist CB HOYO to use his distinctive Gen-Z-inspired visual language to invite citizens and tourists to reconnect with the world of theatre. From 1 to 15 April, a site-specific installation by the artist will be on display on the large external panel of the Teatro Romano itself.

This new patronage initiative forms a natural extension of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. Over the past decade, Pasqua Wines has supported cultural projects in Italy and internationally, investing approximately €6.7 million. Throughout the years, the winery has also championed the talent and ambitions of young international artists, promoting initiatives that bring art, wine, and innovation into meaningful dialogue. Immersive and multimedia installations have become a distinctive hallmark of the brand. Open to the public, these projects are developed in collaboration with artists from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds from around the world. Conceived as experiential and participatory works, the installations are designed to transform the wine experience into a shared narrative, engaging audiences in new ways and often extending beyond the exhibition space to involve the broader urban fabric of the city.

In 2024 and 2025, Pasqua extended its support internationally, sponsoring London’s Saatchi Gallery exhibition Metamorphosis: Innovation in Eco Photography and Film and bringing the artwork Senza Tempo by Adalberto Lonardi to the very same gallery.

Through its support of initiatives like the Estate Teatrale Veronese, Pasqua highlights the strong connection between wine and art. Since 2018, the winery has supported cultural projects that highlight the parallels between an artist’s creative process and the craftsmanship behind a wine. Wine and art share a universal language: open, barrier-free, and accessible to all. Investments in artistic projects and commissions for emerging talents in contemporary performance have become key tools for the winery to communicate its vision, rooted in innovation, cosmopolitan approach, and Italian heritage.

In early 2026, Pasqua launched an international open call that attracted nearly 200 artists worldwide, inviting them to create a new site-specific installation to accompany the launch of a major upcoming wine project. The installation will be unveiled during Vinitaly, reinforcing the winery’s commitment to connecting art and enology.

Photo credits: Pasqua Vini in collaboration with the Comune di Verona

PASQUA VIGNETI E CANTINE, founded in 1925, is a Veronese wine company owned by the Pasqua family, celebrating its first 100 years of activity. Internationally recognized as a producer and ambassador of prestigious wines from Italy’s Veneto region, the company’s ambition is to carry forward a century of winemaking expertise into the future through a renewed stylistic vision. Today, President Umberto Pasqua leads the company alongside his sons: Riccardo Pasqua, CEO; Alessandro Pasqua, Vice President North America; and Andrea Pasqua, Head of Business Development. With the third generation actively involved in the company, Pasqua has evolved into the House of the Unconventional—a research-driven laboratory and a space for dialogue, where quality and creativity take center stage. In its centenary year, Pasqua has been selected by winemaker Charles Smith as the global distributor of the House of Smith portfolio, including K Vintners, Sex, and Real Wine, in which Pasqua also holds a minority stake. Also in 2025, the Veronese winery invested in the Pantelleria-based wine project of actress and international style icon Carole Bouquet, acquiring an ownership stake and combining enological vision with the preservation of the island’s cultural heritage.