Novello, Chestnut and Grottone Festival

An autumn weekend of new wine, roasted chestnuts, and cave-aged cheese

When the first mists rise from the Valle Telesina and the barrels yield the freshly tapped wine, Castelvenere prepares for the Novello, Chestnut and Grottone Festival, which everyone in town simply calls Novello in Festa. It is the event that marks the end of the agricultural season in this small town in the Province of Benevento, Campania, drawing visitors from across the Sannio region and the nearby Terra di Lavoro to Piazza San Barbato every November.

Three products, one identity

The festival revolves around three local excellences that tell the story of the land better than any tourist brochure:

• New wine (vino novello) — fresh, fragrant, and vibrant in color: it is the first taste of the recently concluded harvest, offered by the town's many bottling wineries.
• Chestnuts — served primarily as caldarroste (roasted chestnuts) prepared over open braziers, but also featured in traditional rustic desserts.
• Grottone — a semi-hard stretched-curd cheese aged in tuff caves, recognizable by its unmistakable toasted hazelnut aroma and sweet, lingering flavor.

The pairing of roasted chestnuts and Grottone, pioneered a few years ago by the Pro Loco, has become the event's gastronomic signature: a simple idea that immediately won over the public.

The tuff cellars reopen

The charm of Novello in Festa lies primarily in its setting. The medieval village of Castelvenere is carved into tuff and preserves dozens of underground cellars, still used by families for winemaking today. For the occasion, producers reopen their tuff caves, transforming them into intimate tasting rooms: among the reds, you can sample Aglianico and Barbera del Sannio, while the whites include Falanghina and Coda di Volpe. Guided tours lead curious visitors through alleys, oil mills, and historic cellars, explaining how viticulture was—and still is—practiced here.

«In the footsteps of the past»

Alongside the food and wine, the Pro Loco offers a journey dedicated to peasant culture titled «In the footsteps of the past», created with students from the Castelvenere Hotel Management School: rustic breakfasts, ancient crafts, agricultural tools, and memories shared by the town's elders. This is the most educational part of the event, highly appreciated by families and visiting school groups.

Stalls, crafts, and music

Piazza San Barbato hosts food stalls and artisan booths, while folk groups and local bands enliven the evenings. The program traditionally includes a Sunday lunch in the square, folk music performances, and, in case of bad weather, the relocation of activities to covered structures: a precaution the Pro Loco takes every year, as the weather in the inland Sannio can change quickly in November.

Castelvenere, the most vine-covered town

Castelvenere is known as the most vine-covered municipality in Campania: vines occupy almost the entire agricultural surface, and the Sannio denomination finds one of its productive hearts here. This fact helps one read Novello in Festa not as just another food festival, but as the moment when an entire town of just over two thousand inhabitants showcases its craft. Those arriving in autumn will also find the colors of the vineyards and can easily combine the visit with other stops in the Valle Telesina, from Telese Terme to Guardia Sanframondi.

When and how

The event traditionally falls on the second weekend of November, spanning two days: Saturday from the afternoon/evening, and Sunday from morning until night. Admission to the festival area has always been free in recent editions, and the Pro Loco provides a free, equipped parking area for camper vans.