Alessio Ghirlanda
ENSCONCED in a sleepy valley among Granada’s Alpujarra mountains, the town of Cadiar is a cluster of quaint, whitewashed buildings where the air is crisp and life runs slow.
At the centre of its main square stands a curious structure. A white wall, with copper taps jutting out of the plasterwork, rises above a horseshoe-shaped stone parapet; above it, luscious strands of ivy coil around the top of a stripped-down wooden gazebo.
Though you would be hard-pressed to guess it, this is Cadiar’s fuente del vino – an actual fountain of wine.
Disappointingly enough, it sits idle most of the time; but for a glorious few days once a year, locals take their posts at the taps and pour free wine for the thousands of visitors who flood the town’s streets for its feria – one of Andalucia’s most popular wine festivals.
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Held annually over a long weekend in early October, the festival is a four-day fiesta where food is served aplenty and taps never run dry.
The event is technically a religious celebration in honour of Christ and the Virgin Mary, concluding on the fourth day with a mass and procession; but locals affectionately refer to it as feria del vino – the ‘wine fair’ – and can often be seen swarming around the fountain during the opening ceremony.
In the run-up to the festival, Cadiar dresses up to welcome attendants in grand fanfare. Glittering lights are festooned across the town’s buildings as pop-up fairground stalls emerge along the main street; bars and restaurants set up refreshment posts in the town square, bracing for the waves of customers to come.
Throughout the event, Cadiar’s cobbled alleyways throb with a roiling crowd of revellers from midday till the small hours of the morning. Long lines form in front of the chief attraction – the fountain of wine – snaking all the way back to the church of Santa Ana, a sombre brick-and-stone construction at the edge of the square.
Queuing punters are rewarded for their patience with a complimentary cup of exquisite local vino – you get to choose between a red, a white, or a rosé, and are always welcome to come back for more.
All around the fountain, people congregate and mingle as a set of four large speakers blasts music from the bottom of the main street. Occasionally, someone will slip into the bars that line the perimeter of the square, wolf down some tapas, and muster up the strength to head back out for more wine or beer.
Further up the main street, hawkers peddle local delicacies and souvenirs from behind their stalls – candied fruit, toasted nuts, olive oil. A must-try is the locally-produced honey nougat, which is traditionally moulded into large, square blocks and then hacked into pocket-sized cubes with a hammer and chisel.
Children have their own entertainment options here, from a haunted house staffed with actors in spooky costumes to playground games galore – and even a few small rollercoasters. Prize stalls also abound along the main street, and adults are often spotted trying their luck at dart games, tin can alley, and fish bowl toss.
In a clearing at the top of the street, a marquee the size of a small stadium rises above the shingled roofs of Cadiar’s homes. Inside the marquee is a music stage – bands play live here almost around the clock. The musicians cater to all tastes and preferences, covering some of Spain’s biggest hits as well as a slew of rock, soul, and pop classics.
After dinner, locals trickle into the marquee to have a dance and enjoy a few more drinks before tucking in for the night. But there is one last stop nearly everyone likes to make before bed – the churro stalls.
Churros are deep-fried whorls of dough served with sugar and a hot chocolate dip. A quintessentially Spanish late-night snack, churros are caloric bombs – but they just hit the spot after a long night of revels.
In the downtime from the festival, Cadiar is a joy to explore – from its spotlessly-preserved landmarks to its enthralling mountain routes and landscapes.
At the centre of Cadiar’s old town stands the San Blas Hermitage, a stunning 17th-century brick-fronted church dedicated to the town’s patron saint. Up a gentle slope leading away from the shrine is the picturesque Casa de los Chacón, a former nobleman’s home now housing the town council.
A 20-minute mountain stroll through wooded knolls and bubbling creeks culminates at the agua agria (‘sour water’) spring – a source of ferrous water once prescribed by doctors as a cure for all ailments. A very rare natural phenomenon, this rust-coloured water is so saturated with iron that large swathes of soil in the surrounding areas have turned a vivid orange.
Finally, farther up the mountain, the Cadiar observation deck provides a jaw-dropping view over the verdant Alpujarra valleys below. The landscape here is unique, with jagged crags erupting into the sky out of a sea of green and gold.
All in all, Cadiar has plenty to offer. The wine festival, taking place from October 4 through 7 this year, offers a glimpse into Andalucian culture at its most authentic.??If you have been longing to experience a genuine Spanish fiesta, this might just be the place for you.
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