Calici di Stelle 2007: Great Success in the Apulia Region
Staff Writer - August 11, 2007
A celebration of wine, tourism and regional culture.
The ninth annual event Calici di Stelle (Goblets of Stars), organized by the Movimento Turismo del Vino Puglia (Apulia Movement for Wine Tourism) in Lucera (Sunday, August 5) and in Lecce (Friday, August 10) ended with the greatest success and public appreciation ever.
A mob of wine buffs and enogastronomy experts filled the historic downtown of the two cities to be part of the great extravaganza which brings music, theater, dance and the tasting of the best wines produced in the region together.
"To draw tourists close to the wine culture has always been our objective", commented Vittoria Cisonno, president of the Movimento Turismo del Vino Puglia, with satisfaction, "and events such as Calici di Stelle are an open invitation to the discovery of local art and regional culture, all the while tasting excellent wines in moderate quantity, to understand the commitment and passion that each producer puts in his/her work."
The bottom line of a successful event:
- Over 50,000 participants in the two cities, with many locals, but even more important, Italian and foreign tourists in large numbers.
- Fifty tasting stations managed by the wine producing estates associated with the Movimento Turismo del Vino in each city, in addition to the tasting stations managed by the wine consortiums and the Strade del Vino (Wine Roads) organizations of the two zones.
- Seventy two hundred bottles uncorked, with 180 labels representing the most appreciated DOC and IGT wines from the region.
- A staff of 200, including 10 actors, 30 dancers, 60 sommeliers and 100 hostesses, in addition to exhibitors, coordinators and light and sound technicians.
Once again Calici di Stelle turned out to be the main wine and food event on the regional agenda, establishing itself as an excellent media-generating visibility and bringing economic influx to the area, highlighted by sold out local restaurants, bars and pizzerias during the two days.
In Apulia, the Calici di Stelle event is made possible by the support of the Assessorato alle Risorse Agroalimentari della Regione (Regional Council for the Agricultural Resources). In addition, the provincial administration of Foggia, the municipality of Lucera, the Chamber of Commerce of Foggia, and GAL Meridaunia contributed to the event in Lucera, while for the Lecce events the support arrived from the provincial administration and the municipality of Lecce, the Chamber of Commerce of Lecce, and PIT 8.
The next appointment for the Movimento Turismo del Vino organization will be Benvenuta Vendemmia (Welcome Harvest), the event scheduled for Sunday, September 30, 2007 at the welcome centers of all the associated wineries.
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