Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia (The Grape Harvest Festival) takes place annually in Mendoza Province

Mendoza Province

The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. It is one of the most important festivals in the country attracting large numbers of tourists to the region. It is a world renowned celebration of wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 and the winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 industry.

Each of the 18 departments

Departments of Argentina

Departments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...

 in Mendoza Province prepare for the festival in the early months of the year. The main event occurs in the first week of March in Mendoza city

Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...

 featuring hundreds of dancers and performers, the selection of a "Reina Nacional de la Vendimia" (National Vendimia Queen) and a large firework display.

History

The first vendimia celebrations in Mendoza Province occurred in the 17th Century, the first official Vendimia festival took place in 1936.

Departments

Each of Mendoza's departments are represented at the festival:

• Capital Department
  Capital Department, Mendoza
  Capital is a department of Mendoza Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 111,000 inhabitants in an area of 54 km², and its head city is Mendoza, which also serves as the provincial capital.-Sports:...
  
  
• General Alvear Department
  General Alvear Department, Mendoza
  General Alvear is a department located in the south east of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 44,000 inhabitants in an area of 14,448km², and its capital city is General Alvear, which is located around 900km from Buenos Aires.The City of general...
  
  
• Godoy Cruz Department
  Godoy Cruz Department
  Godoy Cruz is a central department of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 183,000 inhabitants in an area of 75km², and its capital city is Godoy Cruz, which is located around 1,110km from Capital Federal...
  
  
• Guaymallén Department
  Guaymallén Department
  Guaymallén is a central department of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 250,000 inhabitants in an area of 164km², and its capital city is Villa Nueva, which is located around 1,090km from Capital Federal....
  
  
• Junín Department
  Junín Department, Mendoza
  Junín is a central department of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 35,000 inhabitants in an area of 263km², and its capital city is Junín, which is located around 1080km from Capital Federal.-Districts:...
  
  
• La Paz Department
  La Paz Department, Mendoza
  La Paz is an eastern department of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 9,500 inhabitants in an area of 7,105km², and its capital city is La Paz.-Districts:*Desaguadero*La Paz Norte*La Paz Sur...
  
  
• Las Heras Department
  Las Heras Department
  Las Heras is a department located in the north west of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 183,000 inhabitants in an area of 8,955km², and its capital city is Las Heras, which is located around 1,095km from Capital Federal...
  
  
• Lavalle Department
  Lavalle Department
  Lavalle Department may refer to:* Lavalle Department, Mendoza, in Argentina* Lavalle Department, Corrientes, in Argentina...
  
  
• Luján de Cuyo Department
  Luján de Cuyo Department
  Luján de Cuyo is a department located in the northwest of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 104,000 inhabitants in an area of 4,847km², and its capital city is Luján de Cuyo, which is located around 1,107km from Capital...
  
  

• Maipú Department
  Maipú Department, Mendoza
  Maipú Department is a department and municipality located in the north west of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The department covers 617 km² and a population of 153,600 ; its capital is Maipú....
  
  
• Malargüe Department
  Malargüe Department
  Malargüe is a department located in the south west of Mendoza Province in Argentina. Its borders are San Rafael in the north, La Pampa Province in the east, Neuquén Province in the south and Chile to the west....
  
  
• Rivadavia Department
  Rivadavia Department, Mendoza
  Rivadavia is a central department of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 52,500 inhabitants in an area of 2,141km², and its capital city is Rivadavia, which is located around 1,075km from Capital Federal....
  
  
• San Carlos Department
  San Carlos Department, Mendoza
  San Carlos is a western department of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 28,000 inhabitants in an area of 11,578km², and its capital city is San Carlos, which is located around 1200km from Capital Federal....
  
  
• San Martín Department
  San Martín Department, Mendoza
  San Martín is a department located in the centre of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 108,500 inhabitants in an area of 1,504km², and its capital city is San Martín, which is located around 1,100km from Capital Federal.-Name:The Department and its...
  
  
• San Rafael Department
  San Rafael Department
  San Rafael is one of the departments of Mendoza Province, Argentina. The seat of the department is in the city of San Rafael.-Statistics:*Geographical location: 34º 15´ to 36º southern latitude and 70º 10´ to 66º 55´ eastern longitude....
  
  
• Santa Rosa Department
  Santa Rosa Department, Mendoza
  Santa Rosa is a department located in the centre of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 16,000 inhabitants in an area of 8,510km², and its capital city is Santa Rosa, which is located around 975km from the Federal Capital.-External links:*...
  
  
• Tunuyán Department
  Tunuyán Department
  Tunuyán Department is a department located on the eastern border of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 42,000 inhabitants in an area of 3,317km², and its capital city is Tunuyán, which is located around 1,175km from Capital Federal.-Districts:*Campo...
  
  
• Tupungato Department
  Tupungato Department
  Tupungato is a department located in the province of Mendoza, Argentina. The cabecera 0f Tupungato is located approximately 70 km south of Mendoza city, in the Valle de Uco....
  
  

Benediction of the fruit

The Benediction

Benediction

A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...

 of the fruit takes place on the last Sunday of February.

Vía Blanca de las Reinas

On the evening of the first Friday of March the prettiest women (Reinas) from each department parade through the streets of Mendoza dressed in decorative outfits designed to celebrate the winemaking tradition and the character of their Departments. This event has been known to attract over 200,000 spectators.

Carrusel Vendimial

The Carrusel Vendimial takes place on the Saturday morning, it takes the form of a daylight parade, where the Reinas ride horses through the streets dressed in Gaucho

Gaucho

Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...

 style outfits, they are followed by dancers representing various provinces of Argentina and other Latin American Countries. This parade also attracts huge numbers of spectators.

Central act

The "Acto Central" takes place in the Frank Romero Day Amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

. It is an impressive spectacle of light and sound featuring over 100 performers and dancers. The show pays homenage to the "Virgen de la Carrodilla" and features traditional folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

music.

The finale of the show sees the election of the "Reina Nacional de la Vendimia" and a large firework display.

External links

Vendimia Mendoza website