The 15th edition of the Vittoria Jazz Festival “Music & Wine” kicks off: three days of great music and fine wines.

The 15th edition of the “Music & Wine” Jazz Festival was officially presented in the “Ubaldo Balloni” Hall of Mirrors at Palazzo Iacono. The event celebrates the extraordinary encounter between the excellent wines of southeastern Sicily and great jazz music. The event—promoted by the Enoteca Regionale della Sicilia Sud-Est and the Municipality of Vittoria , with the support of the Sicilian Region (Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fisheries)—will take place on June 26, 27, and 28, confirming itself as one of the most anticipated cultural and tourist events in the area. This edition, too, is under the artistic direction of Maestro Francesco Cafiso , who has curated a program packed with internationally renowned artists, in the spirit of quality and the valorization of local identity.

The concert program

All shows are free and will be held in the splendid setting of Piazza del Popolo. The festival opens with the energy of Max Ionata & Hammond Groovers. On Saturday, June 27th , a packed evening will feature the Francesco Cafiso 4et feat. Jeff Ballard , followed by performances by the Conturband and the Giuseppe Asero Trio . Finally, on Sunday, June 28th, the festival closes in style with the overseas sounds of the Aaron Goldberg Trio . All these musicians, as artistic director Francesco Cafiso emphasized in the press conference, have a contemporary vision of music. ” I’m delighted to be able to say that some of the most important musicians in the world will be here,” emphasized Francesco Cafiso, artistic director of the Jazz Festival. “The first concert will be performed by Max Ionata, one of the leading saxophonists on the Italian scene, along with Hammond Groovers. The second concert is a special production for the Vittoria Jazz Festival.” It’s my band with a special guest, Jeff Ballard, a drummer who has played with many influential names in the international jazz scene and beyond, such as Ray Charles. That same evening, there will be a traveling marching band through the streets of the historic center, naturally enlivening the entire city, transporting us somehow back to a dimension that has much to do with both Sicily and its band tradition, but also with New Orleans, a fundamental element in jazz music. After my concert, Giuseppe Asero’s band will be at the Chiostro delle Grazie, opening the show, as other musicians will arrive to share this moment of music: the jam session will begin, so anyone who wants to can come on stage and perform alongside Giuseppe and the rest of us. The final evening will be performed by Aaron Goldberg, a renowned American pianist, who will present a special project for Vittoria in a trio with Gabriele Evangelista on double bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. All that remains for me to do is invite you. I look forward to seeing many of you, and this too will be a very important event in the name of great music .”

Masterclass at the Sicilian Regional Wine Shop, South East branch

Wine, the heart of the festival, will be the focus of three unmissable in-depth masterclasses led by industry experts. The meetings will be held at the Enoteca Regionale della Sicilia Sud-Est, located at Via dei Mille, 131 in Vittoria. ” This new edition of the Jazz Festival Music & Wine sees the inevitable combination of wine, highlighted by the highly anticipated opening of the Enoteca Regionale ,” said Enoteca Regionale President Silvio Balloni . ” The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the South-East branch will take place on the afternoon of June 26th and will be graced by the presence of Nino Aiello of Gambero Rosso. Following this, thanks to the collaboration with AIS Sicilia, we will offer a focus on Grillo and Frappato. It will be a unique opportunity to combine the discovery of the region’s excellent wines with the great jazz music curated by maestro Francesco Cafiso .” The event will begin on Friday afternoon, immediately after the inaugural opening of the Enoteca Regionale, with a masterclass on Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG led by Nino Aiello , a esteemed journalist from Gambero Rosso . On Saturday, June 27th (6:30 pm), the tasting will focus on ” Grillo di terra e mare – L’anima bianca del territorio del Cerasuolo di Vittoria” , led by Fabio Gulino , delegate and speaker for AIS Ragusa. On Sunday, June 28th (6:30 pm) , the masterclass will focus on “Frappato: il volto veramente del sud-este Siciliano” , led by Gioele Micali , delegate and speaker for AIS Taormina.

Culture, between music and wine, in Vittoria

Master artist Giovanni Robustelli is responsible for the event’s graphic design, capturing the vibrant surface of a constantly evolving city on paper through lines and colors. A visual palette across which, like urban graffiti, the names of the great artists who will enliven Vittoria flow. ” The writing emerges with the bold strokes of a brush, almost as if to send a genuine message of love for the region, just like the messages lovers leave on walls ,” explained the Vittoria-born artist at the press conference. The Jazz Festival thus confirms itself as a great opportunity to promote and showcase the winemaking culture and heritage of southeastern Sicily through the universal language of jazz music, creating a unique blend of culture, great entertainment, and food and wine tradition. ” This is a high-profile cultural event born in our region, an expression of the energy, economic strength, and passion for the history of the city and the wine culture that characterize our community,” emphasized Mayor Francesco Aiello . The Jazz Festival becomes the ideal stage for Vittoria to celebrate its identity and its agricultural tradition, which ranges from wine to the excellence of greenhouse cultivation. We are a capital of Sicilian agriculture, capable of both expressing and producing cultural events of the highest caliber .

27 chefs will perform at the Dinner Shows: July 7th in the park of Spessa Castle, July 28th on the beach in Grado, and September 8th in Lignano.
Spessa Castle, Grado, and Lignano: exceptional locations and different, surprising culinary journeys for the three most refined, glamorous events of the Friulian summer.

With the warmer weather, the eagerly awaited Dinner Shows by the chefs of Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori will return. These 27 top chefs have been showcasing the region’s finest cuisine in the region’s most evocative locations for 26 years. Together with the chefs (who, from the Adriatic Sea to the Alps, are champions of the many facets of regional cuisine, each conceived and reimagined according to their own unique approach), the Dinner Shows will be brought to life by top-tier winemakers and food producers : a close-knit team of 71 top-level establishments , champions of Friuli Venezia Giulia’s food and wine excellence.

The event will begin on Tuesday, July 7th, at Spessa Castle in Capriva del Friuli , among the Collio vineyards: an elegant, luminous setting where cuisine celebrating spring meets sunset, and the historic park—with wisteria pergolas and balconies overlooking the hills—will become the chefs’ stage. It will continue on Tuesday, July 28th, on the beach in Grado , with the sea as a natural backdrop and summer on the plate : one of the most anticipated, beloved, photographed, and desired evenings. The season will close on Tuesday, September 8th, on the beach next to the Terrazza a Mare in Lignano , a symbol and icon of this famous tourist destination beloved by Italians and foreigners, with a menu dedicated entirely to the arrival of autumn . In case of inclement weather, all events will be rescheduled for the following day, Wednesday.

Three stylish and sophisticated events featuring fine dining will surely impress, following the usual successful format. After a welcome reception at dusk featuring the excellent products of the consortium’s 13 artisans of taste , attendees will embark on an extraordinary 27-stop gastronomic journey . Cooking new dishes live in front of the public will be the chefs of AB Osteria Contemporanea of Lavariano di Mortegliano, Ai Fiori of Trieste, Al Gallo of Pordenone, Al Grop of Tavagnacco, Al Paradiso of Pocenia, Al Ponte of Gradisca D’Isonzo, All’Androna of Grado, Alla Luna of Gorizia, Caffetteria Torinese of Palmanova, Campiello of San Giovanni al Natisone, Carnia of Venzone, Casa Valcellina of Montereale Valcellina, Costantini of Collalto of Tarcento, Da Alvise of Sutrio, Da Nando of Mortegliano, Enoteca of Buttrio , Il Grappolo d’Oro of Colle di Arba, La Torre of Spilimbergo, Le Fucine Gourmet of Buttrio, Lokanda Devetak of Savogna d’Isonzo, Mandi Parentesi Friulana of Lignano Sabbiadoro, Mondschein of Sappada, Motus Contemporary Bistrot of Grado, Riva Zanelli in Lignano Sabbiadoro, San Michele in Fagagna, Tre Merli in Trieste, and Vitello d’Oro in Udine.

At each station, a winemaker will be present alongside the chefs, offering tastings of their wines, chosen as the best pairings with the food on offer, and will be available to answer questions and curiosities. Finally, each restaurant, pastry chef, and ice cream maker belonging to the consortium will present their sweet creations, and coffee and spirits stations will be set up.

In collaboration with Slow Food and the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo
On Sunday, June 20, fifty winemakers will gather on the beach of the Riva degli Etruschi Resort for an evening dedicated to wine, the sea, gastronomy, and local culture.
From 6:30 PM to 11:30 PM – Riva degli Etruschi – Via della Principessa, 120 – San Vincenzo (LI), Italy
More than just beach tastings, this event is designed to tell the stories, work, and vision behind every bottle.
On Saturday, June 20, the third edition of Vini Bagnanti returns to San Vincenzo. The initiative was born from the collaboration between Riva degli Etruschi Resort and the Vini Migranti project created by Teseo Geri. Once again, the event will transform one kilometer of private beach along the Etruscan Coast into a major experience dedicated to artisan wine, gastronomy, and territorial culture.
Following the success of the first two editions, which welcomed over 1,000 participants, Vini Bagnanti returns with an even richer program developed together with Slow Food Costa degli Etruschi, Slow Wine, the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, and the Banca del Vino of Pollenzo.
The guiding theme of the event will be the concept of “The Right Choice”, creating a journey that explores the relationship between wine, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and production identity, focusing not only on the final product but also on the people working every day in the world of taste and gastronomy.
For this new edition, the tasting route will also include a series of side activities designed to deepen the connection between wine, environment, and gastronomic culture:
• Sensory journey with interactive tasting workshops curated by the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo
• “The Right Choice” Workshop, held on the central park terrace and organized by Slow Wine and the Banca del Vino of Pollenzo. This experience goes beyond the traditional tasting format to explore the ethical and social aspects of wine production. Through a selection of labels, participants will be guided on a journey of reflection and discovery, where flavor meets responsibility and storytelling becomes the voice of everything that is truly Right.
• Food area alongside the resort’s five restaurants, featuring selected food stands curated by Slow Food Costa degli Etruschi
• Thematic areas designed to encourage direct dialogue between producers and visitors, highlighting stories, production philosophies, and the identity of each winery
The selection of participating wineries, curated by Teseo Geri, follows precise criteria: territorial identity, sustainability, production consistency, and attention to the human and cultural value of wine. This approach perfectly reflects the philosophy of Riva degli Etruschi, a destination that has long embraced an integrated model of hospitality, agriculture, and sustainable gastronomic culture.
The wineries will come not only from Italy, with a strong focus on Tuscany, but also from abroad, including producers from Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Greece, and Argentina, offering an international overview strongly connected to the diversity of territories and production cultures.

In Susegana, Conte Collalto welcomes you all year round and comes alive in the summer with a calendar full of events and experiences.

In the heart of the Prosecco Hills (Conegliano Valdobbiadene), a UNESCO World Heritage Site , the Conte Collalto winery is one of the oldest wineries in the world, with documented roots dating back to 958. It has always been much more than a winery: 250 hectares of vineyards, woods, olive groves, a medieval village, the Castello di San Salvatore, accommodations, and a historic cellar that is itself architecture. A place to experience in every season, which reaches its fullest expression with the arrival of summer.

Princess Isabella Collalto de Croÿ , at the helm of the estate since 2007, has built an autonomous and coherent model over time: self-sufficient in energy, entirely based on its own grapes, and rooted in a profound knowledge of each parcel. It is from this solidity that hospitality also takes shape. “An enterprise that has existed for a thousand years and still functions in every part is not a coincidence, but the result of consistent choices passed down from generation to generation,” says Princess Isabella Collalto de Croÿ . “Wine is at the center of everything, because it represents the territory, its history, and the people who experience it every day. Hospitality means sharing this coherence: not a stay in the cellar, but the opportunity to come into contact with something authentic.”

Visiting Conte Collalto means following the wine from beginning to end: from the vineyards surrounding Castello di San Salvatore to the cellar, from the historic barrel room to the museum rooms, where tools and documents recount centuries of production history. The available tours, from the Classic Tour to the Reserve Tour , to the Estate Tour and From Vine to Glass , vary in length and depth, but share the same common thread. They all conclude in the Wine Room , where the estate’s labels, from Prosecco Superiore DOCG to Incroci Manzoni, are paired with local products in an intimate and convivial atmosphere.

Completing the offering is Casa Vigneti , a farmhouse of peasant origins nestled among the vineyards at the foot of San Salvatore Castle. This ancient farmhouse, renovated as an authentic testimony to rural life in the area in the early decades of the 20th century, hosts guided tours by reservation and workshops dedicated to sustainable agriculture, the memory of the territory, and the knowledge of times gone by.

For information and reservations: Guided Tours of Conte Collalto – Casa Vigneti

Proposals for summer 2026

With the warmer weather, the offerings expand and further expand to the outdoors: from walks among the vine rows with wine tastings to eBike tours , to excursions in a historic off-road vehicle at the foot of the Castle , each proposal offers a different way to experience the same territory. Sunset picnics in the vineyard and introductory wine courses , also organized in collaboration with FISAR Treviso , complete an offering designed for a variety of audiences, from enthusiasts to families, to international visitors.

A packed calendar of events will accompany the summer months. Opening the season will be Cantine Aperte , scheduled for the last weekend of May , on the 30th and 31st, with Conte Collalto among the stars of the 33rd edition of the national event promoted by the Movimento Turismo del Vino : two days of tours, tastings, eBike tours among the vine rows, and pairings with local products .

Saturday, May 30th, will begin with vineyard tours, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.: guided walks through the vineyards, cellar, and historic barrel room, accompanied by a glass of Prosecco Superiore DOCG. In the afternoon, at 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m., it will be possible to participate in eBike tours among the vine rows , guided along a circular route of approximately 5 km and enriched by a tasting of Prosecco Superiore DOCG directly in the vineyard.

On Sunday 31 May, Conte Collalto will offer the opportunity to visit the cellar and the historic barrel room free of charge , with two tours scheduled at 11.00 am and 4.00 pm, while throughout the day there will be eBike tours through the vineyards in six different time slots.

On both days, the Conte Collalto Winery will offer a selection of wines for tasting, paired with San Daniele prosciutto and cheeses from Latteria Soligo.

Then, from July 9th to 12th , the Collalto Wine Festival returns, now in its eighth year : four days that will liven up the winery with tastings, food, music, and immersive experiences, attracting thousands of visitors. An event that has become an essential event for the Susegana area and beyond.

Where to stay

Conte Collalto’s hospitality is complemented by two accommodation options, both nestled within the estate’s landscape. The Prosecco Lodge transforms the historic spaces of the winery into a residence: apartments overlooking the garden and with direct access to the vineyards, designed to accompany every moment of the day, from the slow awakening amidst the silence of the hills to the pleasure of a tasting at sunset.

Borgo del Castello, on the other hand, is a place suspended in time in the heart of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills: within walls that preserve centuries of history and are still home to the Collalto family, the apartments welcome guests with understated and authentic elegance, blending medieval charm and contemporary comfort for a stay marked by tranquility, beauty, and memories.

For information and reservations: Relais de Charme Castello San Salvatore

In this balance between history, landscape, and production, Conte Collalto’s hospitality is a natural extension of the estate’s life: a coherent system that renews itself season after season, maintaining a profound connection with its source.