Fish and Cortese Wine Festival

A festival between sea and hills

The Fish and Cortese Wine Festival is one of the most distinctive food and wine events in south-eastern Piedmont. It takes place in Gavazzana, a village in the municipality of Cassano Spinola, in the province of Alessandria, on the charming Belvedere San Martino terrace, overlooking the vineyard-covered hills of the Val Borbera and Scrivia valleys. The concept behind the festival is as simple as it is successful: bringing the finest seafood cuisine to the hills and pairing it with the local white wine, Cortese.

Seafood cuisine in the hills

The heart of the festival is the menu, prepared by the Pro Loco volunteers with a level of care that rivals any seaside restaurant. Among the most popular specialties are:

• the famous fritto misto di paranza (mixed fried small fish), the event's signature dish;
• seafood appetizers such as seafood salad and brandacujun;
• first courses like linguine with seafood, spaghetti with clams, and mussels marinara;
• traditional desserts, from bunet to fruit tarts.

Every dish is paired with Cortese, a fresh and dry white wine produced in the Tortona hills, creating a pairing that has become the event's trademark.

Atmosphere and entertainment

Beyond the excellent food, the Fish and Cortese Wine Festival is above all a social gathering that involves the entire village. The evenings are enlivened by concerts, dancing, and live music, while the Belvedere, with its gardens and the small church of San Martino open to visitors, offers one of the most admired panoramas in the province of Alessandria.

How to reach the Belvedere

To assist the many visitors who head up to Gavazzana each year, the organizers provide a charming panoramic tourist train, a free shuttle service connecting the parking areas to the Belvedere terrace. This detail, combined with the view over the hills, helps make the evening a complete experience, blending taste, tradition, and the Piedmontese landscape.

A local tradition

Now in its fifteenth edition, the festival is organized by the Pro Loco Belvedere San Martino di Gavazzana and represents one of the most anticipated summer events in the Piedmontese festival calendar. It is the perfect opportunity to discover an authentic corner of the province of Alessandria, far from the beaten tourist paths, amidst genuine hospitality and quality flavors.