Emanuela Panke is the President of Iter Vitis - Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, an international network dedicated to safeguarding and promoting Europe's and the Mediterranean's viticultural heritage. For over twenty years, she has worked at the intersection of cultural tourism, gastronomy, and heritage innovation, collaborating with ministries, universities, museums, development agencies, and local communities to enhance the value of wine as a cultural expression, a vector of identity, and a tool for regional [...] leadership has positioned Iter Vitis as a major platform for European cooperation, with active participation in and coordination of numerous cross-border projects under programmes such as Interreg (Italy-Croatia, Greece-Italy, Danube, Euro-Mediterranean), Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, CERV, and ENI CBC. Her work focuses on developing transnational cultural routes, storytelling strategies, digital heritage tools, and sustainable wine tourism models that strengthen both local communities and international [...] collaborates regularly with development agencies, contributing expertise on sustainable tourism, heritage-led development, and the integration of wine culture into broader socio-economic strategies in emerging countries such as Lebanon, Moldova and Bosnia Herzegovina. She has curated cultural exhibitions and training programmes across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, promoting wine not only as a product but as a form of cultural diplomacy, innovation, and intercultural dialogue.A writer, curator, and specialist in territorial narratives, her work explores the dynamic intersection of tradition and innovation, demonstrating how wine, as an agricultural practice, a symbol, and a cultural landscape, can inspire new models of sustainable development, regional storytelling, and community engagement.