Madeira Wine Festival - Grape Harvest & Treading (Estreito de Câmara de Lobos)
Known locally as Festa das Vindimas do Estreito, this is the most hands-on and widely attended morning of the Madeira Wine Festival, running since 1963. Unlike the city events, it's not staged: visitors pick grapes themselves, side by side with local growers, in a vineyard on the edge of the village. Grape picking officially starts at 10:00, when the estate gates open, but it's worth arriving by around 9:30 — good spots at the gate go early, and the wait itself is part of the experience, with folklore groups singing while the crowd gathers. Once the gates open, hundreds of people head into the rows to help with the harvest. By 11:00, the crowd moves into the village for the cortejo etnográfico — a procession of costumed folk groups.
Grape treading starts at 11.45.
Best reached by an early SIGA bus (route 137) or by car from Funchal.
One extra bonus for those who want more
17:00 — "From Vine to Wine Press" Concert. Live performance by Tiago Sena Silva.