VInimmagine

A wine festival in the heart of Salento

VInimmagine is the food, wine, and folk tradition exhibition that enlivens Melissano every summer, a small town in the province of Lecce in lower Salento. Originally created to showcase the work of local winemakers, the event has become a staple of the Salento summer calendar: an evening when the winery opens its doors to the public and the town gathers around its wines, dishes, and stories.

Unione Agricola, the soul of the event

VInimmagine is organized by the Unione Agricola di Melissano, a wine cooperative founded in 1959 that brings together over 900 members and boasts more than sixty years of history. The winery on Via Palermo is the heart of the festival: its spaces are transformed for one night into a large open-air square, where the public can stroll between stalls, taste wines, and get to know the cooperative world behind every bottle.

The Melissa wines take center stage

The core of the event is the Melissa wine line, the result of careful viticulture deeply rooted in the Salento territory: Negroamaro, Primitivo, Malvasia, Sangiovese, and native white varieties tell the peasant soul of this land. Tastings are accompanied by spritzes and aperitifs prepared with the winery's products, in a journey designed to help visitors discover the variety and quality of local production.

Gastronomy and live music

Alongside the wine, VInimmagine showcases the best of Salento street food: pittule, new potatoes, grilled meats, meatballs, stuffed rustic pastries, and artisanal gelato bring the local food stalls to life. The soundtrack for the evening is provided by live music, with bands performing folk rhythms, world music, and Mediterranean sounds that keep squares and courtyards dancing until late at night.

A summer community ritual

More than just a food festival, VInimmagine is a moment of conviviality that weaves together gastronomy, culture, and folk traditions. It is an opportunity for residents and tourists alike to experience the most authentic side of Salento—that of agricultural villages and cooperatives that have guarded the bond between the community and its land for generations. An event that has become synonymous with the Puglian summer in the town of Melissano and throughout the province of Lecce.