Discover the Spanish festival of the Batalla del Vino
Situated in Haro, in the mountains of La Roija, Spain's wine country in the north - la Batalla del Vino, or the Battle of Wine commences. Taking place on June 29 each year, this festival celebrates the day of the patron saint, San Pedro.
Many Spanish festivals involve food or drink, and even more of them involve people hurling them at each other in giant food fights. Among these is the famous La Tomatina festival in the Valencian town of Buñol, where tomatoes are thrown. The Battle of the Wine is no different, and is exactly how it sounds, where revellers soak each in hundreds of litres of red wine.
The festival begins in the morning, when a long procession of locals and tourists alike - dressed in white with a red scarf around their necks - make their way through the town to the Bilibio Cliffs. The procession is led by the town’s mayor on horseback followed by those carrying jugs, hoses, bottles and boxes of wine, ready for the battle to begin.
The war of the wine can be quite violent, purple spray in every direction and a strong heady scent in the air. Remember to bring goggles to protect your eyes.
During the festival so much wine is thrown that it even begins to dribble down the sides of the cliffs towards the town.
Then when it’s all over, there is another procession - of purple monsters trailing down the hillside to await more festivities in the Plaza del Paz (place of peace) and bull fights in the town’s bullring.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Follow us @MaptheGap
-
Tags:
- festivals ,
- food drink travel ,
- spain
