Calici di Stelle (Piemonte) is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Piedmont calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Participating villages across Langhe in Roero and Monferrato, in the heart of one of Italy's most distinctive wine areas. It is an annual event with an established local audience and a consistent place in the regional calendar.
Italy's most romantic wine evening, held around the Night of San Lorenzo when the Perseid meteor shower peaks. Organised jointly by Movimento Turismo del Vino and Citta del Vino, the event runs across hundreds of villages, wineries and historic squares from northern Italy down to Sicily. In Piemonte, participating wineries and town councils organise open-air tastings combining the area's wines with local food, live music and stargazing. 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.
Piedmont produces some of Italy's most age-worthy reds — Barolo and Barbaresco from the Nebbiolo grape — alongside Barbera, Dolcetto, Roero Arneis, the sparkling Moscato d'Asti and the high-altitude Alta Langa traditional-method sparkling wines. The Langhe and Roero hills are UNESCO-listed. Wine tourism here is anchored by Alba and the Langhe villages, with festivals running from the Barolo & Barbaresco anteprima in March through Vinum in spring and the Alba International White Truffle Fair from October through December.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for Around 10 August 2026 (Night of San Lorenzo). Festival access is ticketed: Paid (tasting pass, ~€10-25). 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.
Piedmont is reached via Turin or Milan, with Alba serving as the natural base for any wine festival visit in the Langhe. The region pairs naturally with food tourism, since Slow Food was founded here and the area produces some of Italy's most respected truffles, hazelnuts, beef and cheeses. Piedmontese cuisine builds around the wines: bagna cauda, vitello tonnato, tajarin al tartufo, brasato al Barolo. October through early December is white truffle season and the busiest time of year.
