Wine fiesta in Benitachell

The Benitachell moscatell fiesta will be held for the first time this September, keeping the tradition of the vineyard and the Muscat grape alive.

The ‘BioMoscatell project’ has also now become an excellent benchmark to test organic crops, and produce both wines and natural juices.

Benitachell council now wants to explore the most playful, cultural and festive side of this agricultural tradition, hence the department of culture has organised the first ‘Festa del Moscatell’ to be held on September 13 and 14. It will have a marked educational sense alongside the celebrations. The workshops of ‘xafar raïm de moscatell’ and making models of ‘riu raus’ will let visitors discover how this crop is steeped in traditional culture and architecture.

The Festa del Moscatell starts on

at 19:00 with the theatrical route of the ‘estisoradores’. It will be performed by the company Teatreres pel món, and will be a tribute to those women, who with clean and wise snips, removed the ugliest grains and shaped beautiful bunches of golden muscat grapes. This traditional trade represents the first awareness of rural feminism. Meanwhile, at 20:00, a Muscatell wine tasting offered by the Biomoscatell association will take place at Espai Molí. This group is the spearhead of the introduction of ecology and sustainability in the agriculture of the Marina Alta.

Saturday will be a non-stop day of activities related to Muscat. The day will begin with lunch offered by the festeros of 2020. This will be accompanied by music. At 11:00, the workshop ‘xafar raïm de moscatell’ will take place. This is one of the essential tasks in traditional winemaking. Stepping on the grape is a festive, rustic, and ancestral tradition. Children are invited to enter the winery and discover the moment in which the grape begins to transform into wine. Following this, the children will make models of riu raus, a construction which expresses the architectural uniqueness of the vineyards in the Marina Alta.

The workshops will continue in the afternoon with the decoration of "cabassets per a la pansa". At 19:00, a visit to the terraces of the BioMoscatell project will take place. There will be wine tasting.

At 21:00, a ‘popular supper’ organised by the Festers of 2020 will begin. Then the singer-songwriter Pau Alabajos will perform a concert.

The programme will be available shortly on the website of Benitachell tourist office.