Once again, the wine festival celebrates the commitment of the Madeiran people to their harvests.
The Madeira Wine Festival will be held between August 28th and September 11th, the harvest season. Ever since the 70s, it breathes new life into old Madeiran traditions to do with wine production and consumption.
Festivities start in the downtown of Funchal with plentiful wine samplings and tastings. There will also be various exhibitions of live paintings and actors re-enacting the toils of Madeira Wine and the regional traditions of the island’s artisans. Setting the scene will be an array of objects associated with the season such as winepresses, barrels, casks and harvest baskets, all sure to catch your eye.
Also part of the event is the 12th European Folklore Week, with the purpose of promoting interactions between people of different cultures and portraying ethnographic realities.
At 4 p.m. on September 4th, there is to be an historical wine parade down the surrounding avenues of Funchal.
The closing of the festival is to take place on a Madeiran quinta, in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, the stage of live harvests. The event is to include a series of activities such as the picking and treading of the grapes (with your feet!) by visitors in a traditional winepress. The atmosphere will be a lively one with plenty of musical entertainment and regional gastronomy.
