Calici di Stelle (Puglia) is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Puglia calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. The festival is held at Multiple participating villages and wineries across Puglia, in the heart of the Puglia wine area. 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 Puglia, 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.
Puglia is the heel of Italy and the country's largest red wine producer by volume, dominated by Primitivo (related to American Zinfandel) and Negroamaro. The major appellations include Primitivo di Manduria, Salice Salentino, Castel del Monte, Brindisi, Squinzano and the Locorotondo whites of the Itria Valley. Strong investments in modern winemaking and wine tourism infrastructure have raised the region's profile substantially over the past two decades.
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.
Puglia is reached via Bari or Brindisi airports, with the Itria Valley and the Salento as the main wine tourism bases. A festival visit combines naturally with Puglia's distinctive trulli architecture in Alberobello, the Baroque centre of Lecce, the cliffside city of Polignano a Mare, and the mosaic floors of Otranto cathedral. Apulian cuisine pairs the wines with orecchiette al ragu, burrata, fave e cicoria, panzerotti, and Adriatic seafood. The region offers strong value compared with Tuscany and Veneto.
