The 53rd Fiera del Vino (Festival of Wine) was held in Montefiascone from July 31st - 15 August 2011. During that period there was a full calendar of entertainments and lots of cantinas open for wine tastings to celebrate 900 years of Est Est Est.
Est, Est, Est is the name of the wine for which the town has become famous, it is a good quality white wine that is recognised nationally and internationally. There is a fascinating legend as to how the wine came to bear this name.
The legend suggests that the Abbot Giovanni Defuk was travelling towards Rome, accompanied on his journey by the most loyal of his servants, Martino, who was a great lover of wine and viticulture.
Courtesy of Fiera del Vino Official Website
In fact, every time they passed a town or village Martino would visit the most important inns that served the best wines. Martino would then, as a signal to the Abbott, write on the door of those inns “Est!”.
After a few days the Abbot arrived at Montefiascone and sent Martino to the most important inn to taste the wine. The servant, who was amazed by the good taste of the local product, remained so pleased and ecstatic that this time, instead of just the usual signal, decided to write on the inn door “Est!!Est!!Est!!!” and so, according to the legend, comes the name of the wine of Montefiascone.
You can read more on the history of the wine fair here
A selection of photos taken in the Centro Storico of Montefiascone during this years Fiera del Vino.
It is something of a tradition to buy yourself a pouch and a glass to take around the cantinas with you, mine is now hanging up in our kitchen.
I am sharing a video of the Fiera del Vino 2011 made by a YouTube friend of mine 5quinto5
I hope this selection of photos and the video have given you a good idea of the atmosphere at this event and if you want to see the full album of 32 photos it can be viewed on Flickr in My Album entitled Fiera del Vino August 2011 - Montefiascone
My previous posts about the Fiera del Vino are Fiera del Vino 2010 and Fiera del Vino 2009
The photographs are all my own. 
All rights reserved by LindyLouMac Photo Collection
Posters and prints are Courtesy of Fiera del Vino Official Website
What a wonderful evening it must have been - the photos do give a sense of the excitement. The costumes are lovely, but I had to smile at the little band with their baseball-cap style headgear. For some reason, this morning I was able to follow you on google - could not make it happen when I tried earlier.
ReplyDeleteLindy Lou - Good Morning and thank you for that interesting and fascinating account of the festival - I love the tradition of the pouch and glass
ReplyDeleteGreat post
Helen xx
What a great place to visit. I loved all the photos and the video too.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I liked your weather badge, so I have now put one on my Blog! You're 86 F today, and we're 61 F :( Secondly, I love the name Montefiascone! I say it to myself slowly, with an Italian accent. Another one I like is Montepulciano! Another fascinating post on yet another festival. Wine this time - right up my street. I'll have to put that sign up on our front door, "Est!" Enjoy your lovely warm weather my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe wine festival looks like so much fin! I would love to do that one day!
ReplyDeleteItaly truly has an entirely different way of life doesn't it? So much community and festivals to celebrate traditions. That certainly has gone by the wayside here. The pictures are beautiful and the bit of history lesson was enjoyable. Thanks and thank you for your support!!!! Barb
ReplyDeleteLove your photos, but have just realised that not only the pics on BW, but these here also will not enlarge! I often like to see them in greater detail. The story behind Est Est Est is very interesting. Again another lovely festival. Diane
ReplyDeleteI love wine and the story behind Est! Est!! Est!!! I can't wait to attend the festival, maybe next year! Thanks for sharing the photos.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! You've really captured the essence of the festival!
ReplyDeleteI think festivals with costumes such as this are great! Beautiful photos, thankyou for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteSo proud to read that you are a real Italian traditions lover. Thank you so much, Linda.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are magnificent, I feel the energy of this festival coming right off the screen.
ReplyDeleteLucky you, living there and having this incredible wine festival to enjoy and be part of.
Cheers, Jenny
What a beautiful series of photo's of the wine festival.I love these sort of things they bring people together. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteHow I enjoyed your pictorial of this marvelous event! Loved reading the history of how the wine got its name. Thank you for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteHow fun! And a great story about the vino!
ReplyDeleteThis post was wonderfully rich in history and conveyed Italy's deep appreciation for tradition and the art of wine making. I would love to enjoy a festival like that with my husband. Recently in our area, many wineries have popped up. Along with those, there are tasting events that I could attend locally but haven't just yet. I suppose it's due to my ignorance of the language of wine culture, vintages and growers and such. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, I enjoyed it very much.
ReplyDeleteLoved the photos you have shared here they are great I have never heard of Est! Est!! Est!, I really enjoyed this read thank you for sharing with us.........
ReplyDeleteGreat night-time photos! (I never seem to do well with mine).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the history about this particular wine and the annual festival and traditions.
I noticed Spain is having a wine festival too :) I just love how there are always celebrations of something in Italy :) Thank you for the armchair travel! XOLaura
ReplyDeleteI love the story behind the EST EST EST wine. I also enjoy your posts about all the things Italians celebrate. It's just one party after another. Got to *love* that!!!
ReplyDeleteI would have enjoyed being there!
ReplyDeleteThat would be the event of a lifetime for me. I would absolutely love to attend that someday. Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos and the video! I'm adding this to my "bucket list".
ReplyDeleteoh wow, how cool is that? Thanks so much for sharing! I love the rustic town traditional holidays and celebrations.
ReplyDeleteEst, est, est! I love the sound of that! =)
ReplyDeleteI love festivals and that sounds like quite a fun one!
I just love Italy. Try to get there as often as I can when I am home in Ireland during the summer months. So nice to connect with you through the blogsphere.
ReplyDeleteGreat story and great pictures Linda! Many thanks for your visit, glad you had a little trip down memory lane. Have a great weekend, love Linda x
ReplyDeleteI know thess "fera del vino" from the Garda lake. I always came out of there with a hick up, guess why ?
ReplyDeleteI love the mood of your photos, Lindy! The girls in the cosatumes look really sweet! That's Italy in Summertime: music, food, feste, sagre and fireworks in every little town. Just wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHaving just come back, I already miss my home...
CIAO
ANNA
I really love that many of the festivals over here are celebrated in the medieval style. Just love it :-) And then add a good wine.....even better yet.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lot of fun! I love the first picture you took. Beautiful! All the pictures capture what a wonderful event this is. I hope you are doing well! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteMama Hen
What a delightful legend, Linda! :-) And your pictures make me smile - I feel like I was right there in that beautiful evening light, hanging out with the locals. :-)
ReplyDeletethis looks absolutely marvellous! Love that golden fountain, also spotted in Beautiful World. Also enjoyed the gorgeous sunsets earlier, and all your other incredibly detailed photographic posts!
ReplyDeleteThe vine festival must have been so wonderful to take part in. As I look at your photos I can "HEAR' the laughter and conversation that would have surrounded you . I would have loved to have wandered the streets and sampled the wine. Talk about atmosphere!
ReplyDeleteMake that wine - not vine festival...
ReplyDeleteI LOVE wine, oh and that looks like SOOO much fun. Awesome pictures :0)
ReplyDeleteI think I have died and gone to wine heaven. I would so love this festival!
ReplyDeleteYou did a fantastic job covering the event. I sometimes question if bloggers are the new journalists as they seem to catch all of the details I don't read in the paper. I particularly like the picture of the wine glass holder. I remember receiving one of those last summer and wondering what it was as we registered for a wine taste that spanned a village and an evening.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these.
Julie
What a lovely history!
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't featured the St. Nicholas church in which you were married... I will do so soon and link it to you!! Thanks for telling me about it. (Are there any in Italy that you particularly love that you might have photo's too?)
So glad to be connected!
Blessings!
ann
This is a great post and pictures.
ReplyDeleteI do not drink alcohol.. but I know the Italian wine and it is of good quality.
Hope you have a happy weekend!:-)
This looks like such a great festival! Thanks for sharing the photos and video...made me feel like I was there too! (Wish I was!)
ReplyDeleteLoved the legend!It sounds like Martino had the hiccups, eh?! :D
ReplyDeleteI wonder why is Sagra del Vino held in late July/early August instead of September..do you harvest the grapes so early in Lazio?
Have a good Sunday!
x
Oh what fun! I would love to stroll around with a little pouch and glass tasting the offers :) Your photos have captured an Italian festival perfectly. I can imagine I am there. By the way, I often wondered about the name Est! Est!! Est!!! so thanks for explaining.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun time, love the costumes and the photos. I love wine and enjoy going to the wine tasting festivals here. Great post and photos.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like an incredible festival and a wonderful experience! Melissa :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lindylou, thanks so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments. Glad you liked the staircase. I had my mum-in-law to visit this weekend, so it wasn't really quiet. I will hopefully have a quiet day or two next week, to re-charge the old batteries. Thanks for your thoughtfulness. Have a great week, love Lida x
ReplyDeleteI love the legend and the way in which the Italians know how to celebrate life, paying homage to the traditions of winemaking and the festival of the grape. Living in the heart of South African wine country myself, I can identify with the festivals, but ours are naturally not in the same league at all, lovely as they are There is just something so romantic about wine! As always, a wonderfully entertaining and colourful post exposing us to the culture and traditions of Italy. What a glorious place it must be!
ReplyDeleteItaly is an amazing place. We spent a week in Montepulciano - there were so many festivals in the area. Can't wait to return!
ReplyDeleteYou're very lucky to live in this region, which has so many interesting events at the end of the summer season.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and wonderful shots! Love the information about the name of the wine too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing;o)
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Have a nice and happy week****
Can't imagine anything more wonderful than attending a wine festival in Italy. Wow! It looks like so much fun. Your photos are great. How fun to have that souvenir hanging on your wall. I love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the post. It is so interesting to read this as it seem so foreign to me. I always learn something when I pop over. Have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like they sure know how to have a fiera!
ReplyDeleteCiao! Interesting post!!
ReplyDeleteWow, this has given me a GREAT idea of the event. I'm always amazed at the passion that everyone gives, no matter the age, to making these festivals successful. I so appreciate you sharing the details and photos! – g
ReplyDeleteItaly does these festivals so well. Thanks for the beautiful photos and video.
ReplyDeleteHave posted more Morocco pics if you'd like to see them.
Denise
http://laussiestravelblog.blogspot.com
you had me at wine festival! the photos are b e a u t i f u l ! thanks for taking us all along for the ride.
ReplyDeleteI love your chronicling of festivals.
ReplyDeleteI am immensely sad that I missed the wine festivals...and more sad that I never got to meet you in person! You are a great blogger and great blog friend! I will continue to experience my Italia Bella via you! I hope to come back soon!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Lana
Stefano@ I do not normally reply here but I am unable to contact you any other way, so hope you read this. Thankyou for your comments, maybe next time you come back to Montefiascone, you will get in touch.
ReplyDelete