Wine-soaked fun in the sun as Jumilla fiestas culminate in the Cabalgata del Vino!

Jumilla celebrates the grape-picking season in its own inimitable way

The annual August Fiestas de la Vendimia in Jumilla, which are held to coincide with the beginning of the grape-picking season, reached its climax on Saturday as crowds of thousands gathered and drenched themselves and each other in 70,000 litres of the red wine for which the area is famed!

The Cabalgata del Vino began life as a procession celebrating the wine tradition in the northern “Altiplano” area of Murcia and has now become an event to rival the Tomatina in Buñol (which is being held on Wednesday 26^th August). While the traditional floats still take part in the parade which commemorates the habits, clothing and identity of Jumilla’s past, the main attraction nowadays is the joyful mock battle in which both locals and visitors enjoy some raucous, wine-soaked fun!

As ever, the parade on Saturday evening ended with everyone’s clothes stained a uniform shade of purple as the red wine bathed the streets, while music and fancy dress enlivened the occasion still further!

If you didn’t make it this year, it might be one to pencil into the diary for 2027 – and if not, remember that the wine flows freely throughout the year in Jumilla, and that tours of the wineries are available for groups of anywhere between 2 and 50!

image: Ayto Jumilla

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