Calici di Stelle (Molise) is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Molise calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. The festival is held at Participating wineries and villages across Molise, in the heart of the Molise wine area. It is an annual event with an established local audience and a consistent place in the regional calendar.
Molise's contribution to Italy's most romantic wine evening, held around the Night of San Lorenzo when the Perseid meteor shower peaks. Local producers organize open-air tastings combining Molisan wines with traditional cooking — pampanella (spicy roast pork), cavatelli pasta, scamorza molisana cheese — and live music or stargazing. Smaller scale than the equivalent in Tuscany or Sicily but with strong local character. Calici di Stelle takes its name from the Night of San Lorenzo on 10 August, when the Perseid meteor shower peaks over Italy. Wineries and town councils across the region run open-air tastings under the night sky, often combined with local food, live music and astronomy programmes. The atmosphere is relaxed and family-friendly, with wines typically poured in the form of guided tasting flights through the participating area. The event is organised jointly by Movimento Turismo del Vino and Citta del Vino, with each participating town or winery setting its own programme within the broader nationwide framework. Many editions include amateur astronomers giving talks during the evening, adding a cultural dimension to the wine tasting itself. The event is organised by Movimento Turismo del Vino + Citta del Vino, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year.
Molise is one of Italy's smallest and least-known wine regions, sitting between Abruzzo to the north and Puglia to the south. The region's flagship is Tintilia del Molise DOC (DOC since 2011) — an indigenous red grape that risked extinction before its revival in the 1990s. Other production centres on Biferno DOC and Pentro di Isernia DOC, with wines built on Montepulciano, Aglianico, Trebbiano Toscano and Bombino Bianco. Molise was administratively part of Abruzzo until 1963, and only began bottling under its own regional name from the 1980s.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for Around 10 August 2026 (Night of San Lorenzo). Festival access is ticketed: Paid (tasting pass ~€10-20). Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://www.movimentoturismovino.it/it/calici-di-stelle. Visitors are advised to check directly with the organiser for the latest schedule, as Italian festival programmes are sometimes updated close to the event date.
Molise is reached most easily by car, with Termoli on the Adriatic coast as a popular entry point and Campobasso (the regional capital) inland. The region pairs wine tourism with quiet, low-traffic exploration: the Roman amphitheatre and ruins of Saepinum, the Lombard castle of Bagnoli del Trigno, the medieval villages of Civitacampomarano and Larino, and Termoli's historic seafront. Molisan cuisine pairs robustly with the wines: cavatelli with pork ragu, pampanella (spicy roast pork), scamorza molisana cheese, and the slow-cooked sheep stew called pezzata.
