Letter from Haro 5: The Bull before the Storm
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Why are there so many fiestas going on right now?
Yesterday, with Agustín Santolaya of RODA, we drove through Villalba de Rioja, and it looked as if the entire pueblo, populated almost exclusively by cosecheros (grape growers) according to Agustín, was in the main square drinking white wine out of plastic cups, blocking the way through. (One of them kept signaling to us to join the merriment, and believe me, if our schedule weren’t so damn brutal, I would have insisted that we do stop, but that story will have to wait for another day.)
And then today, on the way back from an interview with Ivan Alberdi of Bodegas Benjamin Romeo in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, we found ourselves smack in the center of an honest to goodness encierro, a running of the bulls. Or in this case, a running of the bull (singular). Seems they had six, and released them one by one, sending all six out at the end, something we didn’t stick around for.
Alfredo, our driver/my wingman/(or as Kelly calls him) my new BFF, explained: Fiestas take place just before harvest not only because there’s a lull before the crush but also because typically fiestas provide an opportunity for grape growers to lavish food and drink upon neighbors they’ll soon call on for help with the harvest.
Of course, ideally there is some lag between party and picking. Can you imagine waking up from a solid week of overindulgence to your neighbor pounding on the door with news that the grapes have to come in, could you please lend a hand? I am craving a double espresso just thinking about it.
Photo: San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Tuesday, September 11, 2007.