vinhozinho

Trips · the wine year

When is the harvest?

Vineyards keep a calendar: picking the grapes, the harvest, falls in different months in each corner of the map. Here is the year of the house's destinations, month by month, with the festivals, and a shortcut to plan a trip for that month.

In gold, the months when at least one of the house's destinations is harvesting. Tap a month to jump straight to it.

Vale do São Francisco harvests all year round: any month is harvest month there.

01 January

Plan a January trip →

02 February

Plan a February trip →

03 March

  • Serra Gaúcha and Vale dos Vinhedos (Brazil): harvest; Festival Vale dos Vinhedos, which closes the harvest program (2027: March 19 to 21). End of summer, start of fall.
  • Campanha Gaúcha (Brazil): harvest. End of summer, start of fall.
  • Canelones, Montevideo and Garzón (Uruguay): harvest; Desfile Nacional de la Vendimia in Las Piedras (in 2024, on Mar 17). End of summer, harvest.
  • Mendoza and Valle de Uco (Argentina): harvest; Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia (the closing is in the first week of March). End of summer.
  • Cafayate (Argentina): harvest; Harvest festivals at the bodegas (in 2026: Tukma from Mar 7 to 14 in Tolombón, Vendimia en Las Nubes on Mar 28, Aureum Terra's Vendimia Rosa on Mar 7 in Animaná). End of summer.
  • Maipo, Colchagua and Casablanca (Chile): harvest; Harvest festivals: Santa Cruz (Colchagua, Plaza de Armas), Peralillo, Marchigüe, San Francisco de El Monte, Isla de Maipo. End of summer.
Plan a March trip →

04 April

  • Mendoza and Valle de Uco (Argentina): harvest. Fall; picking wraps up early in the month.
  • Cafayate (Argentina): harvest; Last harvest activities at the bodegas. Dry fall.
  • Maipo, Colchagua and Casablanca (Chile): harvest; Harvest festivals: Casablanca, Pirque, the Valle del Maipo one at Parque Estadio Nacional, Lolol. Fall.
  • Vinho Verde (Portugal): Festa do Alvarinho e do Fumeiro, in Melgaço: from 2022 to 2025 it was held on the last weekend of April (2025: April 25 to 27). Spring, green and damp.
Plan an April trip →

05 May

  • Maipo, Colchagua and Casablanca (Chile): Last harvest festivals in Colchagua (San Fernando, Pichidegua). Fall.
  • Vinho Verde (Portugal): Festa do Alvarinho e do Fumeiro, in Melgaço: in 2026 the town hall calendar listed May 1 to 3. Spring.
Plan a May trip →

06 June

  • Serra Gaúcha and Vale dos Vinhedos (Brazil): Fenavinho and ExpoBento, in Bento Gonçalves (2026: June 4 to 14). Start of winter.
  • São Roque (Brazil): harvest. Winter, the driest stretch.
  • Chapada Diamantina (Brazil): harvest. Dry winter, cold nights.
  • Douro (Portugal): the Comboio Histórico do Douro, a historic train (Régua–Tua): in 2026 the season started on June 6; the 2027 dates aren't out yet. Start of summer, hot.
Plan a June trip →

07 July

  • São Roque (Brazil): harvest; Colheita ao Luar at Philosophia (2026: Fridays and Saturdays from July 17 to August 1) and at Góes (July 25 and 26); Góes's Festival de Inverno during the July school break. Dry winter, cold nights.
  • Chapada Diamantina (Brazil): harvest; Imersão Vindima at UVVA (Tuesdays and Thursdays in July, 2025 edition). Dry winter, cold nights.
  • Douro (Portugal): the Comboio Histórico do Douro (weekends and some Wednesdays). Very hot, dry summer, the month with the least rain.
  • Vinho Verde (Portugal): Feira do Alvarinho, in Monção (in 2026, July 2 to 5). Mild summer, grapes ripening.
Plan a July trip →

08 August

  • São Roque (Brazil): harvest; Góes's Colheita ao Luar (August 1 and 2). Dry winter.
  • Chapada Diamantina (Brazil): harvest. Dry winter.
  • Douro (Portugal): the Comboio Histórico do Douro (weekends and some Wednesdays). Very hot, dry summer.
  • Alentejo (Portugal): harvest; Harvest programs at the herdades (estates) from mid-August (2023 calendar). Hot summer, lots of sun.
Plan an August trip →

09 September

  • Chapada Diamantina (Brazil): harvest. Dry, warming up.
  • Douro (Portugal): harvest; Harvest. CP's Comboio da Vindima, the harvest train, leaves from Porto in September (the 2026 run is over; 2027 has no date yet); in 2026 the Comboio Histórico ran all month. End of summer, still hot.
  • Alentejo (Portugal): harvest; Harvest programs at the herdades, through the end of September (2023 calendar). End of summer, still hot.
  • Vinho Verde (Portugal): harvest; Harvest; some quintas open the picking to the public (Anselmo Mendes lists September 5 and 12, with no year). End of summer.
Plan a September trip →

10 October

  • São Roque (Brazil): Festival da Alcachofra, Vinho & Mel (artichoke, wine and honey), on the Estrada do Vinho, free entry (2026: weekends from October 9 to November 2). Spring.
  • Cafayate (Argentina): Semana del Torrontés de Altura (October 5 to 16, in Cafayate, Salta and Cachi). Spring.
  • Douro (Portugal): the Comboio Histórico do Douro: in 2026 it ran until October 18. Fall, vine leaves changing color.
Plan an October trip →

11 November

  • Serra Gaúcha and Vale dos Vinhedos (Brazil): Natal nos Vinhedos, in Vale dos Vinhedos, with free shows (2026: November 27 and 28). Spring.
  • Vale do São Francisco (Brazil): harvest all year round; VinhuvaFest in Lagoa Grande (back in 2025, November 20 to 23, after a decade without an edition; the next date hasn't been announced). One of the hottest months; the rains begin.
  • Canelones, Montevideo and Garzón (Uruguay): Wine Tourism Day (November 15): Garzón held a Sunset with a DJ in the 2025 summer-season edition; 2026 had not been announced. Spring, warming up.
  • Alentejo (Portugal): St. Martin's Day (November 11): traditionally, the day the talhas (clay amphorae) are opened. Fall.
Plan a November trip →

12 December

Plan a December trip →

Why the harvest changes months

Grapes are picked at the end of summer, once they ripen. That's why the Southern Hemisphere (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) harvests between January and April, and Portugal, in the Northern Hemisphere, between August and October. In the backlands of the Vale do São Francisco, with sun all year and irrigation, staggered pruning means some vineyard is being picked in any month.

Outside harvest season, vineyards are still worth the trip: spring budding, green summer and the cold of pruning season, with a fireplace and a red. The details for each month, with sources, are in the destinations of Plan your wine trip.

Sources

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