Mendoza Wine Harvest Festival

Mendoza celebrates its grape harvest with a week of events that build towards one weekend. In 2027 the calendar starts on Saturday 27 February with the Bendición de los Frutos, a blessing of the first fruits, and ends with the Acto Central and its repetition on 6 and 7 March.

The first official festival was held in 1936, and in 2026 it marked its 90th anniversary. The Vendimia is not a single show but a sequence. The queens of the province's departments each get their own float. On the Friday evening, the Vía Blanca de las Reinas takes the queens through the city at night; in 2027 it is on Friday 5 March. On Saturday morning the Carrusel follows by daylight with queens, gaucho horsemen and dancers. The same night comes the Acto Central, a large staged spectacle of light, sound and dance for over a thousand performers at the Teatro Griego Frank Romero Day in Parque General San Martin. It ends with the election and crowning of the national queen and fireworks. A repeat performance is on the Sunday.

Between the blessing and the parades, the 2027 calendar also lists the Fiesta de la Cosecha on Wednesday 4 March.

How to go. Dates for 2027 come from the provincial calendar, and the Central Act is ticketed, with tickets announced by the provincial culture department. The parades on the streets are the easier part to see. Rooms in Mendoza fill up for the first weekend of March, so book early, and see the Mendoza guide for wineries and the rest of the trip.