Annual

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

celebrate

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

and usually occur after the harvest of the grapes which, in the northern hemisphere, generally falls at the end of September and runs until well into October or later. They are common in most

wine regions This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...

around the world and are to be considered in the tradition of other harvest festivals. The Egyptian god

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

was dedicated to wine, but the oldest historically documented wine festivals can be traced back to the Greek celebrations for their wine god

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

. The typical ingredients of a wine festival include wine drinking, grape pressing, regional foods, music and, in many areas, religious ritual.

In culture

The

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

, and the extraction of its juice to produce wine, is more than a flavorsome food or drink. Both grapes and wine have immense cultural significance in many cultures, and often religious significance too.

Competitions

Oregon Wine Competition
* Concours Mondial de Bruxelles *

International Wine and Spirit Competition The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969 by the German/British oenologist Anton Massel. Each year the competition receives entries from over 90 countries worldwide. The awards given by t ...

* Varsity blind wine tasting match

Festivals

Australian festivals

Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival The Caxton Street Seafood and Wine Festival is an annual event in Brisbane, Australia. It was founded in 1994 by the Caxton Street Development Association to promote Caxton Street, in historic Petrie Terrace, as an area for Australian music, fo ...

Grampians Grape Escape Grampians Grape Escape is one of the longest running food and wine festivals in Australia and a hallmark event for Victoria. It was launched in 1992. Held in the Grampians National Park at Halls Gap during the first weekend of May every year, the ...

Kings Cross Food and Wine Festival Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, run by Food and Wine Victoria Ltd. is an event held in March annually since 1993 to promote Melbourne and Victoria's food and wine culture. Operating on a not-for-profit basis, the festival's charter is to p ...

Brazilian festivals

* Festa do Vinho (Santa Catarina) * Festa do Vinho de Andradas

Canadian festivals

Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival, British ColumbiaNiagara Wine Festival, St. Catharines, Ontario

German festivals

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

Wine festival calendar
*Hessische Bergstraße ** Winzerfest
Groß-Umstadt
* Mosel ** Moselfest
Winningen
** Weinfest der Mittelmosel
Bernkastel-Kues
* Palatinate ** Burg- und Weinfest
Wachenheim
** Deidesheimer Weinkerwe
Deidesheim
** Deutsches Weinlesefest
Neustadt
** Dürkheimer

Wurstmarkt The Wurstmarkt (literally: Sausage market) in the spa town of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany is the world's biggest wine festival Annual wine festivals celebrate viticulture and usually occur after the harvest of the grapes whi ...

Bad Dürkheim
** Eselshautfest
Mußbach
** Fest des Federweißen
Landau
** Kändelgassenfest
Großkarlbach
** Mandelblütenfest
Gimmeldingen
** Stadtmauerfest
Freinsheim
*

Rheingau The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the Western Taunus to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of Hesse and is part of the Rheing ...

** Rheingauer Weinwoche,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

Rheinhessen Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

** Weinmarkt Mainz,

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

** Backfischfest
Worms
*

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

** Herbst- und Weinfest
Radebeul
*

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

** Fellbacher Herbst
Fellbach
** Weindorf,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

French festivals

* Beaujolais Nouveau *

Bordeaux Wine Festival Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

Bordeaux, France Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

la paulee de mersault, Burgundy, France

Hungarian festivals

* Badacsony Wine Weeks,

Badacsonytomaj Badacsonytomaj () is a village in the Hungarian county of Veszprém with 2,341 inhabitants, as of 2011. It is located at the eastern foot of the volcanic Badacsony hill along the Lake Balaton in Hungary. The greatest sight in the village is that ...

* Balatonboglár Grape Harvest Days,

Balatonboglár Balatonboglár is a resort town situated on the south shore of Lake Balaton in Somogy County, Hungary. It is the official centre of the Balatonboglár wine region, and is often called the "town of grapes and wine." Between 1979 and 1991 Balatonbo ...

* Balatonfüred Wine Weeks,

Balatonfüred Balatonfüred (german: Bad Plattensee, sk, Blatenské Teplice) is a resort town in Veszprém county, in Hungary, with a population of 13,000, situated on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. It is considered to be the capital of the Northern lake ...

* BorZsongás, wine festival of

Villány Villány (german: Wieland; hr, Viljan, or ; Živko Mandić: Hrvatska imena naseljenih mjesta u Madžarskoj, sr, Виљан, Viljan) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary that is famous for its wine. Residents are Hungarians, with minority ...

* Budapest International Wine Festival,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

- the largest Hungarian wine festival (about 50,000 people per festival) * Budavári Borfesztivál,

* Eger Grape Harvest Festival,

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

* Eger Star Wine Festival (Egri Csillag Borfesztivál),

* Etyek Cellar Festival,

Etyek Etyek (german: Edeck) is a village in Fejér County, Hungary, approximately 30 km from Budapest. The area is surrounded by vineyards and is known for its wine-production. The Korda Studios Korda Studios (in Hungarian: ''Korda Filmstúdi� ...

* Gourmet Festival,

Grape Harvest Festival of Tokaj-Hegyalja A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...

Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area wa ...

* Győr Wine Days,

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...

* Pannonhalma Wine Region Cellar Festival,

Pannonhalma Pannonhalma (german: Martinsberg; sk, Rábsky Svätý Martin) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, western Hungary, with approximately 4,000 inhabitants. It is about from Győr. Archduke Otto Habsburg's heart is kept at the Pannonhalma Archab ...

* Rosé Riesling and Jazz Days,

Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...

* Sopron Grape Harvest Days,

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

* Szekszárd Grape Harvest Festival,

Szekszárd Szekszárd (, formerly also ''Szegzárd''; hr, Seksar; german: Sechshard or ; sr, Сексард) is a small city in southern Hungary and the capital of Tolna County. By population, Szekszárd is the smallest county capital in Hungary; by area ...

* Tihany Grape Harvest Days,

Tihany Tihany /ˈtihɒɲ/ is a village on the northern shore of Lake Balaton on the Tihany Peninsula (Hungary, Veszprém County). The whole peninsula is a historical district. The center of the district is the Benedictine Tihany Abbey, which was founde ...

* Tokaj Wine Festival,

* Villány Grape Harvest Festival,

* VinAgora,

* Wine Festival of Balaton's wines,

United States festivals

* Beaujolais Wine Festival,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

* Boston Wine Festival,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

* Cleveland Wine festival,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival is an annual five-day event in Miami Beach, Lincoln Road, typically in mid-February. The event showcases wine, spirits, chefs, and culinary personalities. The five-day event consi ...

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

*French Quarter Wine Festival,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

* Hilton Head Island Wine and Food Festival, one of the oldest in the US * Keystone Wine and Jazz Festival,

Keystone, Colorado Keystone is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Summit County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Breckenridge, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Keyston ...

Maryland Wine Festival Maryland wine is wine made in the U.S. state of Maryland. The industry has grown rapidly since the first winery in Maryland, Boordy Vineyards, opened in 1945. It is estimated that the industry contributes $50 million annually to the Maryland econ ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Naples Grape Festival The Naples Grape Festival is an annual festival in Naples, New York, United States, dedicated to grapes. The town of Naples is in the center of Finger Lakes American Viticultural Area (AVA), a region known for grape-growing and wine making in th ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

* North Carolina Wine Festival * Paso Robles Wine Festival,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

* San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, California *Simply Wine Festival, California
Oregon Wine Experience, Oregon
*

Tallahassee Wine and Food Festival The Tallahassee Wine and Food Festival is an annual two-day Charitable cause, charitable event held in November in Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee, Florida, United States which began in 1995. Non-profit affiliations The TWFF benefits the March ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival The Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival is held annually, the first weekend of June at Lake Skinner Recreation Area in the Temecula Valley AVA of Southern California. The event features morning balloon launches, evening balloon glows, win ...

, California * Vendemmia Festival Philadelphia,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

* Vendemmia Festival Societa' DaVinci,

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

Argentinian festivals

Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia (The Grape Harvest National Festival) takes place annually in Mendoza, Argentina, Mendoza City, Argentina. It is one of the most important festivals in the country, attracting large numbers of tourists to the region. ...

, Mendoza City,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Médanos, Buenos Aires Médanos is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The town hosts the "Fiesta Nacional del Ajo" (National Garlic Festival) and is located in the Buenos Aires wines area. It is the administrative seat of Villarino Partido. External links * ...

Other festivals

Feria Nacional de San Marcos The ''Feria Nacional de San Marcos'' (San Marcos Fair) is a national fair held in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes every year for three (or sometimes four) weeks. Most of the events related to the fair, however, occur in the city of Aguascalie ...

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Festival of Wine
United Kingdom *

Haro Wine Festival The Haro Wine Festival is a summer festival in the town of Haro, La Rioja, Haro, La Rioja, Spain. It features a Batalla de Vino (Battle of Wine) and youth bullfights. It is considered a “Festival of International Tourist Interest” and, the ...

, Haro,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

* Port Wine Fest,

Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal Vila Nova de Gaia (; cel-x-proto, Cale), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a population of ...

* Qormi Wine Festival,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

* Vendemmia Festival Sicily,

Sicily, Italy (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Vendemmia Festival, Sicily, Italy
/ref> *Vineyard Harvest of Surco,

Santiago de Surco Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north with the district of Ate Vitarte and La Molina; on the east with San Juan de Miraflores, on the west with San Borja, Surquillo, Mirafl ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

* Wine Festival of Cyprus,

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Zielona Góra Wine Fest The Zielona Góra Wine Fest (Polish: ''Winobranie w Zielonej Górze'') is a wine festival held in the Polish town of Zielona Góra. The tradition is related to the period of harvest of grapes from the local vineyards which were then turned into w ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

References

External links

List of Balkan wine festivals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wine Festival Wine-related events Wine-producing regions W Fruit festivals Food and drink festivals