August arrived and with it, the joy for the vine harvest is present in El Valle de Guadalupe. Take part in the tastings, tastings and other activities that make up the Harvest Festival 2011!
The warm month of August has arrived, the wind blows happily beyond the sea and the sun shines high in the sky. It is a time of abundance in the Guadalupe Valley, Baja California. The vineyards look lush, loaded with ripe bunches, announcing that the time has come to harvest one of the fruits most revered by man: the grape.
Before autumn begins, winemakers and farmers begin the process of pinch. Full of illusions, they collect this generous fruit to complete a cycle of hopes and start one of passions. It is the time to reap the benefits of the land, to recover the time left in the furrows, to feel pride in the vine that is planted, and to dream of fortified wines.
But this romantic cycle cannot end without a celebration worthy of thank to this good land; And it cannot end like this, because the people who work and live in the countryside know about sacrifices, about getting up hours before dawn and sweating from sunrise to sunset; he knows the pain and pleasure that comes from losing or achieving a good harvest; people who know how to give thanks for another year.
This is the time to celebrate and share the vintage, a few days in which the hard days of yesterday and the resolutions of tomorrow are forgotten to enjoy that today everything makes sense. It is something that speaks of tradition, of a wine culture that in Mexicolittle by little, it grows.
To understand this ancient celebration, one must work with pride, feel that the blood that runs through the veins is the same that flows from the bowels of the earth - something that comes from generations. However, to enjoy it you only need to be willing to toast with a full glass and enjoy this good life.
The celebration of the grape harvest is lived with the senses and with the heart. Listen to the passion with which they speak of a good wine, smell and feel the benefits of the vine and, of course, savor the best reserves. Here in the Guadalupe Valley, a space opens up to romanticism, the one that invites us to walk through the vineyards at twilight, to walk and breathe deeply under an open sky, to the delight of being truly alive.
The celebration of pleasure
The origin of the vintage comes from the Ancient Greece, where the grape harvest was cause for great excitement. At that time the Dionysian festivals were celebrated, as a rite of peace and pleasure to venerate the deity of Dionysus - known in Latin culture as Bacchus-, to whom tribute was paid for five days. This great festival was considered one of the most important in the entire empire.
Since then, this festive ceremony has been celebrated in a similar way by wine producers around the world. In Mexico, Harvest festivals They have been carried out for more than a decade, trying to mix the old winemaking tradition and the colorful national folklore.
At the beginning of August, the region gives itself to its guests to offer the best wines. For more than ten days, the wine houses come together to organize and celebrate events alluding to the grape harvest: tastings, tastings, concerts Y festivals. The harvest is for everyone, the same if you are a resident or a visitor. It is about showing joy because the grapes are very juicy.
Some of the events held in the different vineyards and wineries vary between dance shows and musical concerts, although each event has its magic, its own personality, a delicious sample of regional cuisine and definitely the best house wines.
To close the festivities, a contest of paellas. It brings together hundreds of teams seeking to earn recognition for the best seasoning. It is actually an event to celebrate life and good friendships. The atmosphere is fabulous, especially after the first drink.
All participants have a certain time to prepare their masterpiece, as the select group of judges rate the seasoning and the presentation. It may seem incredible, but this contest has become a true obsession for all those who "throw the house out the window" when it comes to preparing the best paella.
Platters with all kinds of food go from one place to another, combinations of land and sea, traditional and rural in this contest that is a true space for culinary creativity. The fires are prepared with care, because, they say, there is the secret. At the end of the day everything is a perfect excuse to hang out with friends and drink the good ones wines of the Guadalupe Valley.
Here you eat, drink and enjoy without limits. Live music plays throughout the party and the dancing doesn't end until the lights go out, which doesn't happen until well into the early hours of the morning.
There is a magic in this vintage, in its music, in the intense color of the grapes and the smell of the white oak barrels in which the wine is matured. Magic that, perhaps, is only understood by those who know about wines, but that can be appreciated by anyone who gets carried away by the gentle rhythm of this joyous celebration.
To learn about wines
During the harvest festivities they offer oenological visits Guided through the vineyards and wineries of the different wineries in the region, which are a magnificent opportunity to appreciate the process of making these delicious wines. Each vineyard has its charm, as well as each winery its special reserve, and there is a space for everyone's taste. The best thing is to visit and try all of them.
On these walks you can break that romantic image from the movie A Walk in the Clouds, since the wineries where the wine is made –in industrial quantities– have lost the flavor of the old farms. Technology continues its endless career and winemaking does not escape, although there are those wonderful corners full of original charm.
In addition to being an enogastronomic journey to the delight of all visitors, wine tastings and competitions are an excellent opportunity to get started in this delicious wine culture.
Harvest Festival 2011
Valle de Guadalupe, Ensenada, Baja California
From August 5 to 21, 2011
Reports on events at www.fiestasdelavendimia.com
