It’s always wine o’clock somewhere but especially in Haro leading up to June 29, the battle of wine! Participating in The Haro Wine Fight is the most fun cultural experience. It’s a ‘must do’ for your euro summer itinirary!
Where to stay for the Haro Wine Fight
For the most fun accommodation, stay with Stoke Travel at their Haro Campsite. If you use my promo code JAYNEY when you book, you’ll get free unlimited beer & sangria for the first night of your stay!
Stoke Travel offers two person shared tents. If you’re travelling alone you’ll be paired with someone of the same gender, but you can also upgrade to a solo tent for another €30 per night.
The campsite is a short walk to the town’s main square, Plaza de la Paz where a lot of the festivities before the Wine Fight happen. It also has a pool that’s perfect for cooling down in the summer heat.
Because its so close to town, its so easy to take part in all the other celebrations and get anything you might need while you’re camping.
Things to Do Before the Wine Fight
Remember – Haro has siestas! From 2-5pm, many businesses are closed. Businesses are usually also closed entirely on Sundays, so this may affect what activities you can do outside of the main festivities.
There are various patron saint days celebrated in Haro from the 23rd of June.
June 23 – Saint Juan, celebrating St. John the Baptist with a lot of bonfires & fireworks involved.
June 25 – Saint Felices, the city’s patron saint whom a procession is held for during the day.
June 29 – Saint Pedro, who is celebrated with the infamous wine fight!
During the day there’s loads of family friendly activities throughout the small town. Cooking competitions, parades and concerts.
Visit wineries
Go wine tasting in Spain’s winemaking capital! There are a lot of wineries within walking distance from one another not far from the town square such as:
Visit local bars & restaurants
The bars and restaurants also have a great selection of the local wines plus selections of pintxos – small, cheap bar snacks that are popular throughout basque country.
I was recommended Tasca Los Paraguas.
Check out street art
Art all around Haro depicts the traditional processes of winemaking. You can find a lot of statues and street art around the town square. Wander around the surrounding alleyways to discover them all and get some pintxos at the bars along the way.
Attend concerts in the square
The biggest culture shock for me was finding out that Spain’s nightlife doesn’t kick off till midnight! That’s when these shows begin and there’s quite a few acts lined up until the early hours of the morning.
There’s concerts every night of the week leading up until the wine fight. They get bigger and better each night – more stages, fireworks, dancing!
The Haro Wine Fight – La Batalla del Vino
Party all night, then in early the morning you’ll walk up a mountain to the site of the fight. The wine fight starts officially starts at 10am but everyone is there much earlier, usually around 7am. Then it will end a little before lunch time.
You should be wearing a white outfit with a red neckerchief. If you don’t have any of this don’t worry, Stoke travel has you covered, selling a set of clothes at their threads tent or reception plus you’ll get a bunch of box wine to take with you. I recommend bringing goggles, a waterproof phone case and wearing old shoes! The locals won’t go easy on you – You’ll take with your little water/wine pistols & flasks, meanwhile they’ll arrive with some very large containers and throw the whole thing over you when you aren’t looking!
Keep moving to stay warm – during the fight there is a lot of singing and dancing as well as the wine throwing, so make the most of it! There is also a gorgeous view of the countryside if you decide to walk to the very top of the mountain.
After the Wine Fight
There’s one last set of concerts to celebrate and this time they bring out the toro de fuego (fire bull) – someone runs around through the crowds with a metal bull on their back that shoots fireworks!
Interested in working this event?
Volunteer with Stoke Travel! You can apply to be a fellow Stokie here.
Festivals are a marathon, not a sprint whether you’re attending or working them. Festivities for the wine fight are a week long. With at least one week of set up & pack down on either side of that. You’ll need to work at least two weeks during the Spanish Festival events. You can also help out with The Running of the Bulls as these festivals are back to back).
Stoke Travel is not for the faint-hearted. You’ll be right in the heart of the party, with access to beer & sangria all day & night, then waking up hungover to do it all again. I recommend giving it a go if you consider yourself outgoing, adaptable, and always have a positive attitude.
As a Stokie, you get 3 meals a day, free beer/sangria and accommodation in the form of a two-person tent – not shared, unless you want to 😉
You can do any role to help the event such as:
- Set up, Tent Turnover & Pack Down – physical work to set up the site and artwork, then pack it all up at the end.
- Reception – an admin & customer service role.
- Welcome Crew/Tent Runner/Butterfly – welcoming guests, showing them the site, and their tent + general help wherever needed.
- Bar/Threads – Serving beer/sangria & selling merchandise to guests.
- Kitchen – Help chef prepare meals for guests and other Stokies.
One Comment