As you all know, Binissalem is famous for its vineyards and for giving its name to a Denomination of Origin that includes five municipalities of wine growers. The fair’s big draw is “The Grape Battle” where hundreds of revelers throw grapes one to another until everyone is purple and soaked in grape juice. There is also the Correfoc or Firerun, popular throughout the Catalan region in Spain and involves dozens of performers disguised as devils parading through the streets lighting fireworks and performing fire dances.
The revelers during the fair should also catch the grape-crushing and wine tasting competitions as well as the heritage parades which showcase a variety of historical floats featuring folk songs and dancing. You’ll have so much fun here! When it comes to its history, we all know that the Mallorcans respect their traditions regardless of anything.
That’s why the festival has roots in the ancient wine-making tradition in the region – it is said that the festival dates back to Roman times where the wine makers got rid of grapes that have gone bad. Pelting other people with real grapes seems to be the best idea around at that time and since it was so much fun the tradition remained in time. Mallorcans love wine so much that they continued making it even during the ban under Arab rule. Before the insect invasion in the end of the 19th century more than 40,000 hectares of Mallorcan land were used for growing grapes while today is only about 2,500. Despite this, grapes are as important in Mallorcan agriculture as almonds and olives. The island has more than 60 estates producing over 300 different varieties of wine and September is when the annual grape harvest is in full swing and how I said above, many celebrations, tastings and competitions are taking place. So, if you are party person, the wine town of Binissalem becomes a party zone for a fortnight where you can expect a great atmosphere with a lot of surprises. And if you’re going anywhere near the grape-throwing, beware of the splatter!
