Sardinia’s Grape Festival & Open Cellars 2025 is not a single venue event but a seasonal arc of wine happenings that stretch from August star‑gazing tastings through September–October harvest open days across the island. Anchored by nationally coordinated formats from Italy’s Movimento Turismo del Vino, Sardinia’s calendar blends village wine feasts, “Calici di Stelle” nights under Perseids skies, and “Cantine Aperte in Vendemmia” harvest weekends when wineries open gates for tours, tastings, grape‑stomping, and vineyard walks. For travelers, it means planning a late‑summer to autumn route that pairs coastal swims with cellar doors in Cannonau, Vermentino, Carignano, Monica, and Bovale country, guided by local tourism pages and winery listings released as dates approach.
Season overview 2025
- August: Calici di Stelle events bring night‑time tastings, music, and astronomy to piazzas and coastal towns around August 10, the Night of San Lorenzo, with producers pouring under the stars. Sardinian municipalities such as Sorso and Sant’Antioco have already posted 2025 programs and “save the date” notices for August 9–10 activities.
- September–October: Cantine Aperte in Vendemmia weekends see wineries open during harvest with guided visits, tastings, sensory workshops, picnics among the rows, and family activities. The format runs nationally from early September through October, with regional calendars published by participating wineries and local media.
- May reference: Earlier in the year, Sardinia participates in Cantine Aperte (spring open cellars) which sets the tone for summer and harvest seasons; in 2025, 13 Sardinian wineries joined the May edition, indicating strong cellar‑door momentum heading into autumn.
Spotlight: August starlit tastings
- Sorso (Sassari): The city announced “Calici di Stelle 2025” programming culminating Saturday, August 9, with a diffuse route of tastings, local producers, cultural animation, and live music across renovated piazzas Marginesu and Garibaldi. The municipality previewed a July pre‑program and the August headline night, confirming the islandwide tradition’s vitality.
- Sant’Antioco (Sulcis): “Calici di Stelle” returns August 10 with Carignano del Sulcis as the star, plus street food, live music, folklore, artisan stalls, and coordinated star‑gazing at the Su Pisu fort with a mobile planetarium. Tickets are purchased in town during the event for tasting circuits.
Harvest open days: what to expect in September–October
- Format: Wineries welcome visitors during crush with guided cellar tours, vineyard walks, themed tastings, kids’ corners, live music, and food pairings. The national framework describes Vendemmia open days as a family‑friendly window into the most important time of the year for producers.
- Activities: Expect barrel‑room tastings, vertical flights of Sardinian varieties, grape‑stomping photo ops at select estates, picnic tables between rows, and short lessons on pairing local cheeses and salumi with Vermentino, Cannonau, Monica, or Carignano.
- How to plan: Regional winery lists go live as harvest nears; Sardinian wine blogs and local media aggregate participating cellars, with some events requiring RSVP or small tasting fees on arrival.
August wine villages that feed into harvest
- Jerzu Wine Festival (Ogliastra): The week leading up to August 10 blends cellar tastings, folklore, parades, and music in Cannonau country; the finale coincides with Calici di Stelle, with paid tasting passes (glass, holder, multiple food‑and‑wine stops) and a headliner concert. This festival primes cellars for autumn visits and offers a north‑east inland base ahead of Vendemmia weekends.
How Sardinia maps the season
- National framework: Visit Tuscany’s official overview of Movimento Turismo del Vino explains the sequence — Cantine Aperte (spring), Calici di Stelle (August), Cantine Aperte in Vendemmia (Sept–Oct), with Vigneti Aperti spanning March to October 27 in 2025 — a model Sardinia follows with local flavor.
- Sardinian participation: Regional pages reported 13 Sardinian wineries for the May 2025 Cantine Aperte, with tastings, sensory paths, music, and cultural add‑ons; expect a similar, winery‑led approach for Vendemmia in September–October.
Cultural flavor in the glass
- Varieties to find:
- Cannonau (Grenache): Spicy reds from Ogliastra/Jerzu and Nuoro hills.
- Vermentino di Gallura: Mineral whites from the island’s sole DOCG.
- Carignano del Sulcis: Plush reds from Sant’Antioco and Sulcis sands.
- Monica, Bovale, Nasco, Malvasia di Bosa: Indigenous styles to seek in open cellars.
- Pairings: Pecorino sardo, pane carasau, bottarga, cured mullet roe, and seadas with honey are frequent tasting companions at cellar counters and festival stalls.
Practical planning
- When to come:
- Star‑lit August (around Aug 9–10) for “Calici di Stelle” nights.
- September–October weekends for Vendemmia open cellars; expect listings to publish late August and early September.
- Where to base:
- North and northeast (Alghero/Sassari–Gallura) for Sorso, Vermentino routes, and coastal cellars.
- Southwest (Sant’Antioco–Sulcis) for Carignano and the August 10 Sant’Antioco tasting route.
- Ogliastra/Nuoro for Jerzu Cannonau festival in early August leading toward harvest tours inland.
- How to book: Many tastings are pay‑as‑you‑go in piazzas; some wineries require reservations for guided visits during Vendemmia. Follow local municipal pages and winery feeds as dates approach.
- Getting around: A car is best for rural cellar routes; appoint a designated driver for tasting days. Coastal towns often host central ticket points for Calici di Stelle routes.
Responsible tasting and access
- Sustainability: Respect vineyard paths, avoid trampling vineyard cover crops, and separate waste at events. Producers increasingly request reusable glasses or provide glass‑holders with tasting kits in August festivals.
- Accessibility: Piazza‑based tastings offer flat routes and seating. Vineyard and cellar tours may involve uneven surfaces; alert wineries when booking if mobility support is needed.
Sample 6‑day plan
- Days 1–2 (Aug 9–10 window): Base in Sorso or Alghero; attend Calici di Stelle Sorso on Aug 9; drive to Sant’Antioco Aug 10 for Carignano night with star‑gazing at Su Pisu.
- Days 3–4: Head to Ogliastra for Jerzu cellars and coastal detours; if visiting earlier in August, align with Jerzu Wine Festival week and Calici di Stelle finale.
- Days 5–6 (Sept/Oct swap): Return in September for a Vendemmia weekend; pick a Vermentino route in Gallura or a mixed red route in Sulcis, booking guided tours where required.
Verified details at a glance
- Framework: Calici di Stelle (around Aug 10), Cantine Aperte in Vendemmia (Sept–Oct), with Vigneti Aperti running March–Oct 27, 2025; formats include guided visits, tastings, family activities under a national coordination.
- Sardinia August examples: Sorso confirmed Aug 9 “Calici di Stelle 2025” night with tastings and music in renovated piazzas; Sant’Antioco on Aug 10 focuses on Carignano, with live music, folklore, and star‑gazing at Su Pisu.
- Wine village tie‑in: Jerzu’s August wine festival and Calici di Stelle finale link Cannonau cellars to the broader seasonal arc that continues with open cellars in harvest months.
- Sardinian participation: 13 island wineries took part in Cantine Aperte (May 24–25, 2025), a strong indicator of active cellar‑door culture that extends to Vendemmia.
Mark the calendar for starlit August tastings and return for the fragrance of crush in September and October. Build a Sardinian route that starts with Calici di Stelle in Sorso or Sant’Antioco, then follows the vines into Vendemmia weekends when cellar doors open and grapes turn to stories in the glass. Book a few guided visits, pace the pours, and let Sardinia’s landscapes — from Gallura granite to Sulcis sands — shape a harvest season to remember.