ARCHIVED - August 11 to 21 Fiestas de la Vendimia in Jumilla

The August fiestas in Jumilla revolve around the grape harvest and the renowned folk festival

Jumilla celebrates its annual fiestas in August, combining the celebrations of the feast day of the Virgen de la Asunción (the patron of the town) with the grape picking fiestas (the Fiesta de la Venidmia, which is being held for the 48th time this year), a folk music and dance festival and the Moors and Christians celebrations, although unfortunately this year the Moors and Christians events are unlikely to be held..

There are a variety of events and processions, including a traditional parade celebrating the process of wine-making, a children’s parade and the Cabalgata del Vino. This latter is the best known and most popular, and during the parade thousands of litres of wine are flung out into the crowd and poured over the assembled revellers, a small percentage of it ending up inside the attendees and the remainder all over their clothes. Wear white, and don´t be afraid to get wet (and red)!

There are other events relating to the celebration of wine fiestas including a wine “Miniferia”, in which the Bodegas display and promote their products and visitors purchase a glass which enables them to sample the various offerings in the booths, and a red wine fountain flows throughout the main days of the fiestas.

Additional activities include a grape treading competition and a grape pip spitting competition as well as the elements to keep the peñas (fiesta groups) happy, which include a fairground. Meanwhile, the folk festival (held this year on August 13 to 15) has become one of the most important of its kind in Spain over the course of its 40-year-old history.

The Mini Feria del Vino is located in the Jardín del Rey Don Pedro, while the wine fountain and the starting point for several of the activities are in the Plaza de la Glorieta and the main hostelry area and encampments of the local peñas are on Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

Some of the performances and musical events are in the Arzobispo Lozano secondary school (click for map).

The program of events during the 2022 Fiesta de la Vendimia, the 49^th holding of the event, is as follows (although this schedule is complemented by those for the folk festival and for individual concerts, see here):

Sunday August 7

12.00: The official opening speech of the fiestas and the awarding of the “Cofín de Oro” and Colaboración no Peñera” prizes at the Teatro Vico.

Thursday August 11

21.30: Gran Fiesta de Exaltación del Vino, a celebration of wine in the gardens of the Salones Pio XII de Santa Ana del Monte. Admission by invitiation.

Friday August 12

21.00: The Peñas proceed from their Federation HQ to the Jardín del Rey Don Pedro.

21.30: Inauguration of the wine fountain in the Jardín del Rey Don Pedro.

22.00: Inauguration of the official D.O.P. JUMILLA stand.

Saturday August 13, the Miniferia del Vino opens at 12.00 midday.

22.00: Shoda Monkas in concert at the Campo de Fútbol Antonio Ibáñez (admission free of charge).

Sunday August 14

11.00: The floats taking part in the children’s parade go on display in the Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

19.30: The children’s parade begins in Calle Trabajo. Route: Cánovas del Castillo, Avenida de la Asunción, Avenida Levante, Mercado de Abastos.

Monday August 15

12.00: Holy Mass in honour of Our Lady of the Assumption (La Virgen de la Asunción), the patron of Jumilla, on her Feast Day.

17.30: “La Uva Caliente” competition on Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

20.30: Procession in honour of La Virgen de la Asunción, starting at the Iglesia Mayor de Santiago.

Tuesday August 16

11.00: Shop window dressing competition in the town centre.

13.00: Monsatrell grape competition in the Jardín del Rey Don Pedro.

18.00: Grape treading competition in Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

18.30: National grape pip spitting competition in Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola. this is always a fun event and attracts a lot of attention, as competitors attempt to spit a grape pip as far as possible.

Wednesday August 17

9.00: Offering of the first grapes of the harvest.

18.30: Official reception for the invited guest groups at the Town Hall of Jumilla.

20.00: The Fiestas groups parade through the town from Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola to the Jardín de la Glorieta. This sounds mundane but is a charming event as the invited guests and the Jumilla peñas are all wearing folk costumes, carrying their offerings of grapes and led by their standard bearers. On this festive occasion the groups also offer non-perishable foodstuffs to the Cáritas charity, which are deposited in the Paseo as they pass

21.00: Offering of the first grapes of the harvest and the first grape juice to the “Niñico de las Uvas” in the Jardín de la Glorieta. The groups line-up and each is called to the stage where they tip their grapes into a huge vat, basketful by basketful. Once all of the offerings have been made, homage is paid to the Niño de la Uva with folk dancing and the grapes are ceremoniously trodden.

Thursday August 18

11.00: The floats taking part in the main traditional parade go on display in Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

11.30: Voting takes place on the best float, along with wine tasting and typical local food products in Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

20.00: The participants in the main traditional parade gather in Calle Goya.

20.30: The traditional parade sets off. Route: Calle Goya, Plaza Pablo Picasso, Calle Jaime de Grañana, Calle Trabajo, Cánovas del Castillo, Avda. de la Asunción, Avenida Levante, Mercado de Abastos.

Friday August 19

8.00: Gachasmigas making competition at the Polideportivo La Hoya.

10.00: National hoe-throwing competition at the Polideportivo La Hoya.

17.00: Gymkhana del Chato in Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.

18.30: Know your wines competition in the Jardín del Rey don Pedro.

22.00: Prize-giving ceremony at the Peña La Alborga in Avenida Levante.

23.00: Humorous monologues at the Peña La Alborga in Avenida Levante.

Saturday August 20

19.00: The GRAN CABALGATA DEL VINO begins after participants gather at 18.00 in Avenida Reyes Católicos. Route: Avenida Reyes Católicos, Avenida de Murcia, Cánovas del Castillo, Valencia, Avenida Levante, Avenida e Murcia.

Sunday August 21

20.30: The figure of Nuestra Señora La Virgen de la Asunción is taken back from the parish church of Santiago to the church of San Agustín in a procession.

Sunday September 4

8.00: Romería del Niñico de las Uvas. The figure of the Niñico de las Uvas is taken back to his sanctuary in the monastery of Santa Ana del Monte in this popular “romería”.

10.30: A late breakfast is enjoyed by all at Santa Ana la Vieja.

12.00: Mass in honour of El Niñico de las Uvas at the monastery of Santa Ana del Monte.

14.00: “Matavendimia” lunch to say goodbye to the fiestas for another year at Santa Ana la Vieja.

For more local events, news and visiting information go to the home page of Jumilla Today.

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Oficina de Turismo Jumilla

The tourist office in the centre of Jumilla is easily found by driving straight into the centre of the town along the Avenida de Murcia and following the signposts. The tourist office is alongside the Parque de Don Albano Martínez Molina, where there are a number of parking spaces.

Jumilla, in the north of the Region of Murcia, has become internationally famous over recent decades due to the quality of the wines produced in the municipality, and wine tourism has begun to attract visitors from other parts of Spain and the rest of Europe.

The tourist office is happy to provide a range of maps and leaflets showing the different bodegas which can be visited within the municipality. Some of these form part of the Rutas del Vino de Jumilla, the Jumilla wine route, and can either be visited as a guided tour or sell their produce directly to the public.(see feed below for more details)

However, the town and the surrounding countryside have plenty of other attractions for visitors, and the popularity of Jumilla wines is leading more and more people to discover other facets of the tenth largest municipality in Spain.

These include the spectacular countryside and birdlife in the Sierra del Carche, the historic remains which range from cave paintings and a Roman mausoleum to the castle, the Iglesia de Santiago, the Town Hall and the Teatro Vico, and the gastronomy: rich stews are accompanied not only by the wines of the area but also by Jumilla pears, which also enjoy Denomination of Origin status.

Tourism in Jumilla is not as seasonal as it is in the coastal areas of the Region of Murcia, but the town is at its liveliest during the fiestas in Holy Week and the August Fair, which incorporates the grape harvest celebrations and the Moors and Christians parades.

The Altiplano of the Region of Murcia, which consists of the municipalities of Jumilla and Yecla, is only just over an hour by car from the Mar Menor, Cartagena, Mazarrón, Torrevieja and Alicante, and anyone wishing to visit real inland Spain and world-class wineries is advised to include Jumilla in their schedule.

Opening hours

Summer

Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 2pm

Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2pm

Monday closed

Winter

Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 7pm

Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2pm

Monday closed

Click for full information about visiting the Jumilla municipality and its wine bodegas: Jumilla section