Wine & Stories of Berat

For three days each autumn, the wineries come to Berat instead of the other way round: in 2024, 41 producers from Albania, Kosovo and the Arbëresh area of Italy poured on the central square. A jury of oenologists and sommeliers awards prizes, and the festival says its tours lead to the fig orchards of Roshnik, an olive grove and jam makers. Entry was free in 2026. On other days, start from the Berat region page.

Producers stand behind their tables on the square, pouring wine and raki; in one earlier edition visitors were handed glass holders to walk from stand to stand. Concerts fill the evenings. The festival says its jury comes from Austria and Italy and hands out the awards on the final day. On Saturday 3 October 2026 the Calabrian project Chef Arbëresh, with chef Luciano Algieri, made its debut there.

Plan for early autumn, and confirm the year's dates before booking a room. The fifth edition ran Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026, 10:00–20:00 each day; 2025's opened in early October, 2024's ran into early November, and 2022's ran Friday to Sunday in late October. In 2026 the organiser announced the dates on 19 September, about two weeks ahead.

Entry was free in 2026, and the stands were open 10:00–20:00 each day on Teodor Muzaka Square. Prices for tastings and tours are not published: ask at the stands. The fair is outdoors, on a pedestrian square beside Bulevardi Republika, with no ticket to buy in advance. The festival's event page is on Berat's tourism portal, berat.al.

Teodor Muzaka Square is in central Berat, beside the pedestrian Bulevardi Republika. Buses leave Berat Bus Terminal for Tiranë from 04:30, every half hour through the morning, and the city bus from the terminal stops near the city centre, the Gorica bridge and the Mangalem quarter. Taxis wait on Iljaz Vrioni square. For a winery visit on other days, the Çobo winery is out in Urë-Vajgurore.

Wine & Stories of Berat is a three-day wine festival held each autumn since 2022 in the centre of Berat, Albania, most recently on 2–4 October 2026 on Teodor Muzaka Square. Organised by Citrus Group, it gathers wineries from Albania and Kosovo at stands on the square, with a wine contest judged by oenologists and sommeliers, evening concerts and tastings of local figs, olive oil, cheese and jams.

The festival began in 2022, when dozens of wineries from Albania and Kosovo set up small wine houses on Republika square along the Osum, and the best winery was chosen on the final night. By the third edition, in 2024, the count had reached 41 wineries, including producers from the Arbëresh area of Italy. Berat is twinned with Vaccarizzo Albanese, an Arbëresh town in Calabria whose own wine contest now hosts wineries from Albania and Kosovo.

Dates arrive late and listings disagree: in 2026 the organiser announced 2–4 October only on 19 September, and one booking site showed 1–3 October. Go by the organiser's dates and Berat's tourism portal. The fig tour heads to Roshnik, a village known for figs and vines. The castle has hosted a single dinner night, Taste of Berat, in one earlier edition; the fair itself stands on the square in the lower town.