The Life of A Spanish Vintner

Excuses to Celebrate!

After a wonderful few weeks in the U.S., I’m finally back in Madrid. Again, I want to thank everyone who I met with, and everyone that participated in the Tempra Tantrum tastings and dinners, it was so much fun!!

While I’ve been away, people here in Spain have been having a lot of fun too. Let me tell you about some of the excuses to party that happened in August!

1. Tomatina Festival
Excuse to party: Bathe in tomato soup

You might have heard of this festival, as it’s very well known throughout the world. La Tomatina is basically a food fight that has been happening every year in Buñol, Valencia since 1945. The festival occurs every last Wednesday in August and centers around throwing tomatoes at each other. Approximately 150,000 ripe tomatoes, about 90,000 pounds, are thrown each year. Words cannot really describe the craziness, so watch this video!

Looks fun, right??

2. New Year’s in August — Nochevieja en Agosto
Excuse to Party: 16 years ago, the lights went out

This is probably a festivity you may not have heard of, but it’s definitely one of the craziest, in my opinion, mostly because it’s so uncommon. In the town of Bérchules in Granada, they celebrate New Years, in August! Not only do they sing Christmas carols, but the festivity is complete with the customary grapes, Christmas lights and hats, bubbly and a lot of dancing. This tradition started in December 31, 1994 when New Year festivities were shortened due to a power break up and has continued ever since.

Again, words can’t describe how an entire population can embrace this tradition, so watch these videos. I think it’s so cool and it makes me feel happy that we can turn anything into an excuse to celebrate!

Does your city or family have any interesting excuses to party — I mean, traditions??

- Rocio