Festa del Cannonau

Festa del Cannonau is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Sardinia calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Jerzu / Mamoiada in Nuoro province, in the heart of one of Italy's most distinctive wine areas. It returns each year as a recurring fixture in the regional wine calendar. Annual celebration of Cannonau di Sardegna — the local name for Grenache, planted in Sardinia for centuries and producing distinctive concentrated, herbal reds. The festival rotates between Cannonau-producing villages in central Sardinia, with the Nuoro province towns of Jerzu and Mamoiada as common hosts. Grape stomping, traditional Sardinian shepherd cooking, folk music and producer tastings combine for an event with strong rural character. Italian grape and harvest festivals — sagre and feste dell'uva — are some of the country's longest-running celebrations, with many running uninterrupted for a century or more. Programmes typically combine grape-stomping demonstrations, traditional music, parades of allegorical floats, food stalls offering regional specialities, and tastings of the area's wines. The events have strong local character and are often as much community celebrations as wine programmes, with town councils, parish committees and local producer associations sharing the organisational load. Many festivals incorporate religious elements — blessings of the harvest, processions to the parish church — that connect the wine calendar to the liturgical year. The event is organised by Comuni della Strada del Cannonau, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year. Sardinia is Italy's second-largest island and a wine region of growing reputation. Cannonau di Sardegna (Grenache) is the flagship red, producing concentrated herbal wines often associated with the island's longevity culture. Vermentino di Gallura DOCG — Sardinia's only DOCG — produces saline aromatic whites in the granite hills of the north. Carignano del Sulcis, Vernaccia di Oristano (a sherry-like fortified wine), Nuragus and Monica complete a varied regional picture. The 2026 edition is scheduled for August 2026 (dates TBC). Entry is free, with optional paid tasting passes or guided sessions available on site. Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://www.cannonau.it/. 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. Sardinia is reached via Cagliari, Olbia or Alghero airports, plus extensive ferry connections from Italy and France. Gallura in the north is the closest wine area to the holiday economy of the Costa Smeralda. The Cannonau zones in central Sardinia (Nuoro province) and the Sulcis area in the southwest are more rural. Sardinian cuisine pairs the wines with pane carasau, porceddu (suckling pig), bottarga, pecorino sardo, and the saffron-flavoured malloreddus pasta.