For some people, autumn is a time of melancholy, a reminder that the dark days of winter are just around the corner. For others, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is a cause for celebration, a chance to count the blessings of summer and weigh up the harvest, its fruit all filled, as Keats wrote, “with ripeness to the core” — in short, to pig out.
Throughout the European countryside, the culmination of harvest season has always been a cue for thanksgiving and merrymaking, a time to kill the fatted calf, crack open a few bottles, have a dance and get seasonally sloshed. Today, with mass production, factory farming and fast food, you might expect these rural traditions to have died out, but many survive. Others are being revived by those determined to celebrate the diversity and quality of “real” food.
From the vineyards of France to the olive groves of Spain, hundreds of thousands of people will be toasting the fruits of the earth this autumn, and you can join them. Here’s our guide to some of the best food and drink festivals around — and how to get involved.
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SLOW FOOD IN ITALY
If you’re sick of the sight of gut-busting, artery-clogging, super-size-me fast food, then what you need is ... slow food. The Slow Food movement was founded in Italy in 1986 by a group of “eco-gastronomes” to promote the “right to taste”, and now has more than 80,000 members in 104 countries. It organises events, tastings and awards, celebrates regional cuisine, promotes sustainable fishing and farming, and identifies products and dishes in danger of disappearing.
Every two years, Slow Food organises the Salone del Gusto, a gargantuan gastronomic fair in Turin and Piedmont that attracts more than 120,000 visitors and features four days of workshops, tastings, markets and cookery demonstrations by chefs from around the world and from the best Piedmontese restaurants.
One highlight is the Buon Paese market, which has 400 stalls selling parmesan, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, pancetta and much more from small producers across Italy. The world market has everything from Japanese sake to Spanish jamon serrano, and the Salone’s cellars feature 2,500 wines, all avail-able for tasting.
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How to join in: the Salone del Gusto runs from October 21-25 at the Turin Lingotto Fiere, on Via Nizza (open daily, 11am- 11pm; entry £14; 00 39 0172 436711, www.slowfood.com). Inntravel (01653 617720, www.inntravel.co.uk) has a four-night gastronomic break, accompanied by its Italy expert, that includes admission to the Salone del Gusto and visits to the famous truffle market at Alba, a wine producer and a cheese workshop. One night is spent in Cortemilia, at the Hotel San Carlo, owned by the chef and sommelier Carlo Zarri. The trip departs from Gatwick on October 21 and costs £689pp (single-room supplement £154), including breakfast and three gastronomic dinners.
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WINE IN FRANCE
After a long, hot and indolent summer, Europe’s winemakers enter a short period of frenetic activity, known in France as the vendange. Once all the vines are stripped and the grapes are crushed, it’s time to relax and celebrate, toasting a job well done with generous helpings of last year’s vintage.
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Traditional street celebrations survive in pockets across France. In the Dordogne village of Sigoules, near Bergerac, on the first Friday night in October, a torchlit procession is held, while the next day sees a parade of bands, live music and boat races on the river. On the Sunday, there are fun runs in the surrounding countryside, followed by a classical-music concert at Monbos.
About 100 miles north, in Poitou-Charentes, the village of Pamproux holds a 10-day festival during which visitors can help pick the last of the grapes and carry them to the presses, all to musical accompaniment. Payment comes in the form of wine and a great feast of regional delicacies laid out on the main square. This year’s dates are October 8-17; the free feast is on October 10.
How to join in: for Sigoules, call 00 33 5 53 58 48 16; for Pamproux, 00 33 5 49 76 30 04. Holiday Rentals (020 8743 5577, www.holiday-rentals.com) has houses across the French wine-growing regions, including Les Roches (ref 13138), a luxurious five-bedroom farmhouse five miles from Sigoules, which is available during the first week of October for £900.
The specialist operator Orph- eus & Bacchus (01403 820806, www.orpheusandbacchus.com) organises a week-long wine and music festival at a private estate near St-Emilion to coincide with the Bordeaux vendange. Prices start at £285pp for two nights, full-board, including chateaux visits and chamber-music concerts, but not travel.
British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) flies from Gatwick to Bordeaux; from £64. Air France (01 605 0392, www.airfrance.ie) flies from Dublin; from €192.
OLIVES IN SPAIN
Spain is the world’s biggest exporter of olive oil, but only four small areas of production are designated Denominaciones de Origen, the mark of highest quality. One is the small Andalusian town of Baena, where the local economy and culture is so drenched in olive production that the town even has its own olive museum.
Every November, at the end of the harvest, a festival is held to celebrate the fruit and its oil. During Las Jornadas del Olivar y el Aceite, the narrow whitewashed streets of Baena are packed with foodies, who come for professional tastings and demonstrations of cooking and decanting.
How to join in: this year’s festival will take place from November 6-13. For details, call 00 34 957 691641 or visit www.ayto-baena.es and www.museoaceite.com. Baena is 25 miles southeast of Cordoba.
Bridge Travel (0870 191 7287, www.bridgetravel.co.uk) has three nights at the Maimonides hotel, opposite the Mezquita mosque in Cordoba’s old Jewish quarter, for £307pp in November, including Gatwick-Seville flights and transfers.
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GRAPES IN PORTUGAL
The beginning of October is a period of manic activity in the vineyards of the Douro. For most of the year, this postcard-perfect Portuguese valley is a picture of somnolence, but for two frenetic weeks, the grapes that make the great port wines are picked and pressed using age-old methods.
At some quintas, grapes are still trodden by foot in shallow stone troughs. This is done twice: first, a group of men work quickly and methodically, marching backwards and forwards over the grapes for about two hours, to a beat laid down by the estate manager; then follows a less intense, but equally important, period known as the liberdade, when all and sundry are invited to dance around in the grapes, accompanied by traditional Portuguese music. This can quickly turn into a booze-fuelled party.
How to join in: the specialist wine-tour operator Arblaster & Clarke (01730 893344, www.winetours.co.uk) can arrange private trips to quintas in the Douro. For instance, three nights, full-board, starts at £445pp, based on six sharing, including one morning spent treading grapes, vineyard walks and tastings, but not flights (Gatwick-Oporto; about £120 through Arblaster & Clarke).
TURKEYS IN NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS
Turkeys were first introduced to the small town of Licques, in the Pas-de-Calais, by monks in the 17th century. Since then, Licques has become famous for its prize poultry, and a two-day turkey festival is held every year on the second weekend of December.
The highlight is the Sunday-morning parade, when the fattened birds are driven through the town streets by the local Knights of the Order of the Turkey — the birds blissfully unaware that their last Christmas is just around the corner. A potent local liqueur known as Licquoise is given to unwary visitors, and there is a marché du terroir where other regional foodstuffs are sold.
How to join in: this year, the festival will be held on December 11 and 12. For details, call the Licques tourist office on 00 33 3 21 82 07 07 or visit www.licques-volailles.com (in French only). Cresta (0870 161 0915, www.crestaonline.co.uk) has three nights, B&B, at the four-star Château Tilques, near St-Omer, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, for £231pp in December, including ferry crossings. In Calais, it is also worth visiting the traditional Christmas market.