The Wine Table
Dining with the winemaker in the cloister of a 1,000-year-old Franciscan convent
About The Wine Table
Wine stories at the table, in the cloister of a 14th-century convent
The Wine Table is a food and wine series held in the cloister of the Franciscan Convent of Cuccaro Vetere, a small town in Lower Cilento, in the province of Salerno, Campania. The 14th-century complex has been restored and transformed into an experience hotel; it is here, under the arches of the cloister, that a single long table is set for a deliberately small number of diners. The concept is as simple as it is rare: place the wine producer at the same table as the guests and let them tell the story of their own bottles.
A format born in 2025, now a series of six evenings
The project was born from the meeting between the Convento Francescano Experience Hotel and Wine&Thecity, the Naples-based organization that has been taking wine out of conventional settings for years. Behind the convent's restoration are Alberto Carrato and Maria Chiara Faganel, a young couple who left Northern Italy to return to their family's roots and bring the building back to life. After the first experimental evenings in the summer of 2025, The Wine Table has become a full seasonal calendar, with events scheduled from April to September.
Five wines, five dishes: how an evening works
Every dinner follows the same structure, almost a secular ritual. The guest winemaker brings five labels, which are served in sequence and paired with five dishes specifically designed by the Osteria del Convento kitchen. Between glasses, the producer takes the floor: they talk about the vineyard, the vintages, and agronomic choices, but also about the landscape from which that wine originates. The dining room is limited to a maximum of fifty guests, ensuring that dialogue remains possible and no one feels like a mere spectator.
Guest wineries
Each year, the series maps out the geography of Italian wine, moving from one region to another. Among the protagonists who have graced the cloister:
- Livio Felluga and Russiz Superiore — Friuli Venezia Giulia
- Marchesi Frescobaldi — Tuscany
- Casale del Giglio — Lazio, Agro Pontino
- Villa Raiano — Campania, Irpinia
- Leone de Castris — Puglia, Salice Salentino
- Donnafugata — Sicily
- San Salvatore 19.88 — Cilento
The cuisine of Patrizia Portolano and Cilento products
At the stove is Patrizia Portolano, chef of the Osteria del Convento, who builds each menu based on the evening's wines and the seasonal offerings of the land. Many raw ingredients come from the convent's garden; others from key Cilento producers, such as Santomiele white figs, cheeses from Tenuta Principe Mazzacane and Barlotti, and the catch of the day from Palinuro. The result is a selection of dishes that bridge the gap between coastal and peasant cuisine: fried anchovies, garden eggplant parmigiana, Gragnano pasta with fish broth, and chestnut honey desserts.
Cuccaro Vetere, the Cilento National Park, and slow tourism
Cuccaro Vetere has only a few hundred inhabitants and is nestled in the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the cradle of the Mediterranean diet. The village is located a short distance from the Cilento coast but retains an inland profile, characterized by olive groves, chestnut woods, and ridge roads. In this context, The Wine Table also functions as a slow tourism proposal: those attending the dinner can stay in the suites converted from the monks' cells and discover the Salerno hinterland far from the intense summer crowds.
Why it's worth the trip
This is not a wine fair or a technical tasting: it is a dinner. The single-table formula, the intimate scale, and the setting of the cloister create an atmosphere that no conference hall can replicate. For wine lovers, it is an opportunity to listen to great names of Italian oenology without filters; for those visiting Cilento, it is a unique way to connect with the local cuisine and producers.
The Wine Table — edition 2026
Six evenings, six regions of Italian wine
For 2026, the Convento Francescano Experience Hotel and Wine&Thecity have built a calendar of six appointments, from April to September, each dedicated to a winery and the territory it represents. It starts on April 18 with Livio Felluga, a historical reference for the white wines of Friuli Venezia Giulia, and concludes on September 12 with the Sicilian winery Donnafugata.
In between, on May 9, it's the turn of Marchesi Frescobaldi and their Tuscan estates; on June 20, Casale del Giglio arrives, a company founded by the Santarelli family in 1967 in the Agro Pontino; July 18 features Villa Raiano, with the great white and red wines of Irpinia; August 8 closes the summer part with Leone de Castris, a Puglian winery founded in 1665 and famous for bottling the first Italian rosé, Five Roses, in 1943.
The format
Each dinner takes place in the 14th-century cloister at a single long table for fifty guests, usually starting at 8:30 PM. Five glasses are served in sequence and commented on by the producer, in dialogue with as many dishes created by the Osteria del Convento kitchen led by Patrizia Portolano. The common thread remains the territory: the convent's garden, Cilento cheeses and fish, and products from small artisans in the province of Salerno.
Programme The Wine Table 2026
The Wine Table 2026 Calendar — Cloister of the Franciscan Convent, Cuccaro Vetere (SA)
- Saturday, April 18 — Livio Felluga (Friuli Venezia Giulia). Inaugural evening, menu by the Osteria del Convento with Patrizia Portolano and Herbert Fiorentino.
- Saturday, May 9, 8:30 PM — Marchesi Frescobaldi (Tuscany): wines from the Frescobaldi family's Tuscan estates.
- Saturday, June 20 — Casale del Giglio (Lazio, Agro Pontino): tasting dinner featuring local cuisine and five labels from the company founded in 1967.
- Saturday, July 18 — Villa Raiano (Irpinia, Campania). Tasting: Ripa Bassa Spumante Extra Brut Metodo Classico, Alimata Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Ponte dei Santi Greco di Tufo DOCG, Costa Baiano Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC, and Taurasi DOCG. On the table: seared Palinuro shrimp with citrus sauce, fried Palinuro anchovies with mint aioli, mixed Gragnano pasta with Cilento fish broth, Slow Food convent garden eggplant parmigiana, and a selection of Barlotti cheeses.
- Saturday, August 8 — Leone de Castris (Salice Salentino, Puglia). Tasting: Five Roses Metodo Classico Brut Rosé Negroamaro, Five Roses Anniversario Rosato IGT Salento, Donna Lisa Malvasia Bianca IGT Salento, Marisa Murgia IGT Primitivo Rosato, and Pierale Fiano Passito IGT Salento. Menu pairing Puglia and Cilento: Puglian focaccia, Cilento squid, orecchiette, octopus salad, and traditional Puglian desserts.
- Saturday, September 12 — Donnafugata (Sicily): closing evening of the series.
Each event is reserved for a maximum of 50 guests; booking is mandatory at +39 351 5225397 or +39 331 8632205.
Highlights The Wine Table 2026
- Six exclusive dinners in the cloister of a 14th-century convent in the Cilento National Park
- A single long table for only fifty guests, with the winemaker sitting among the diners
- Five wines and five dishes per evening, with carefully studied pairings
- Six Italian wine territories: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Tuscany, Lazio, Irpinia, Puglia, and Sicily
- Cilento cuisine by Patrizia Portolano, featuring the convent garden, Palinuro fish, and local cheeses
- Possibility to stay in the suites converted from the ancient convent
Prices The Wine Table 2026
Practical information — The Wine Table
Location
Cloister of the Franciscan Convent, Via Convento, 84050 Cuccaro Vetere (SA), Campania.
How to get there
By car: Take the Battipaglia exit on the A2 del Mediterraneo motorway, then the SS18 south and local roads towards Futani and Cuccaro Vetere; it takes about two and a half hours from Naples. By train: Vallo della Lucania-Castelnuovo or Pisciotta-Palinuro stations on the Tyrrhenian line, then taxi or rental car (the village is not served by evening public transport). By plane: Salerno-Costa d'Amalfi or Naples-Capodichino airports.
Reservations and rates
Seats are limited to fifty per evening and booking is mandatory: call or WhatsApp +39 351 5225397 or +39 331 8632205, information at conventofrancescano.com. The participation fee, including dinner and tasting, is provided at the time of booking; in summer 2025, the first dinner was priced at 80 euros per person, all-inclusive.
Tips
Evenings usually start at 8:30 PM and are held outdoors in the cloister: in spring and September, it is advisable to bring a light jacket. Those arriving from afar can stay in the Convento Francescano suites or in accommodations in Futani, Vallo della Lucania, and along the coast between Ascea and Palinuro. Given the wine tasting, it is recommended to arrange transportation so you do not have to drive.
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Where does it take place — The Wine Table
Chiostro del Convento Francescano
Via Convento, 84050 Cuccaro Vetere