Wine and fun at Festa des Vermar, Majorca

Do you love wine? Then you have to attend the Festa des Vermar in Majorca. This festival demonstrates the island’s strong bond with wine, but also the joyful attitude of its inhabitants.

Wine is a fundamental element in the life of the inhabitants of Majorca. It has always been like that. In fact, the Majorcans did not stop producing wine even during the ban at the time of the Arab domination. And they did not stop even after the invasion of insects that decimated the vineyards in the 19th century (from 40,000 hectares to about 2,500).

Since del 1930, Festa des Vermar celebrates the end of the grape harvest.
Every September, people from all over the island and abroad reach the small village of Binissalem, a wine center close to Sierra de la Tramuntana. They can’t wait to participate in parades, wine tasting, grape treading competitions, grape throwing battles. They also want to taste some Fideus de Vermar: slow cooked lamb with spices, and noodles.

FESTA DES VERMAR: GRAPE TREADING, GRAPE THROWING AND OTHER EVENTS

The grape treading competitions are among the funniest events. Here’s how they work: in the town square, participants are divided into pairs and  have 3-4 minutes to crush two bags of grapes with their feet and to extract as much juice as they can.

Instead, for those who want a more energetic activity, there is Batalla de Raïm, the grape throwing battle. This is similar to other fruit battle that takes place in Spanish (but also Italian) towns. During the battle, people (most of all youths and visitors) throw thousands of kilos of grapes at each other, creating a messy but fun moment to remember. Since it is the final event, the battle takes place on Saturdays at noon.

But the program of Festa des Vermar is very extensive and also includes correfoc, a parade with fire and fireworks, and the show of giant puppets dancing to the music of the ‘Xeremiers’. There are also concerts and activities for children.
Of course, wine abounds and is also for free.

The Festa des Vermar 2022 will be held on 24, 25 and 26 September.