Viva Rioja! Viva Vino!

What’s better than a Spanish festival where people parade around in costumes with monstrous heads as the town celebrates with music, fireworks, dancing and tapas? Adding gallons and gallons or extraordinary Rioja wine to this already fun filled festival! Don’t miss your chance this September to experience the amazing Rioja Wine Harvest Festival in Logrono, the capital of the Rioja region.

The famous festival and partying kicks off on September 21^st and continues for one whole amazing week. Visitors are treated to plenty of Rioja wine as it takes center stage during the entire week. For those of you who don’t know, Rioja wines are some of Spain’s best wines and the Rioja region is a very suitable region to grow great tasting grapes that produce the distinct oak aged red, white and rosé Rioja wines. And during the Rioja Wine Harvest Festival, thousands of wine enthusiasts come together to drink hundreds of gallons of this great wine.

The festival begins on September 21^st and its opening day coincides with the feast of Saint Matthew. Visitors join in the opening ceremonies by imbibing wine and enjoying regional cuisine and tapas. As the week continues, people wearing costumes with big heads – also called Cabezudos – parade the streets while on-lookers enjoy the spectacle.

On the Saturday night during the festival, musicians, children and the Cabezudos all gather at the Town Hall. From there, they parade to the Gran Via, the famous wine fountain that spews “wine” high into the sky in honor of Saint Matthew. But don’t be fooled, the fountain isn’t actually spitting wine into the sky, it’s really water colored red, pink and white to symbolize the different types of Rioja wines.

Another spectator favorite is the foot-crushing of the grapes. During this event, wine makers fill buckets full or Rioja grapes and trample them under foot! Come join in the festivities and raise a glass of Rioja wine to this honored festival and the great town of Logrono.

Sounds like it’s time for a trip to Spain, si?

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