Harvest Festivals Spain 2013

I know summer is not over yet but autumn is coming sooner than you think and with that comes the wine harvest festivals of Spain.  Across Spain September and October mark the time of year when all the grapes are harvested and of course the wine harvest would not be complete without a few festivals.

The festival in Logroño “Logroño Harvest Festival “ September 20th to 25th.  This year on September 21st La Rioja will officially celebrate the picking of the grapes with special activities centered around Logroño in the Rioja wine region but will have various activities all week long including the stomping of the grapes!  La Rioja has more than 600 vineyards alone so this make a great location to see some spectacular bodegas like Marques de Riscal in Elciego, La Fabulista in La Guardia, and bodegas Roda in Haro.  The best place to stay in the hotel at Marques de Riscal.

Just north of La Rioja the region of Navarra celebrates with their own harvest festival in Olite.  Olite celebrates around the 1st of September. More details at Olite Harvest Festival.

In southern Spain, in Andalucia the Harvest Festival of Jerez de la Frontera will be celebrated from September 10 to 15th this year. Jerez de la Frontera contrasts greatly from the northerly regions.  Here we find the white washed villages and you can almost count on sunny days daily at this time of year. One of my favorites down there which is close to the beach is Verjer de la Frontera, try the Boutique Hotel V.

Later in October and up in Catalunya Cava Week in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia is celebrated October 7th to 15th.  In the Peñedes wine region, famous for producing some of Spain’s best Cava or sparkling wine (many as good as Champagne) This small town devotes a week to everything Cava.

These are just a few of the various harvest festival in Spain.  Every wine region is host traditional festivals celebrating the picking of the grapes.  I suggest planning at least ten days and moving from south to north to really enjoy the different regions of Spain during one of the best time of the year.