The Campo de Borja Protected Designation of Origin held its 36th Harvest Festival in Ainzón on September 15, a traditional event that this year came as the grape harvest had already been underway for weeks. High summer temperatures brought the start of the season forward to early August in some towns within the appellation, located at the foot of Mount Moncayo.
Despite the earlier agricultural calendar, the celebration retained its customary September 15 date. The main event was the tribute to wine and the traditional grape treading to obtain the first must of 2026, held at Ainzón’s Municipal Sports Center.
Each year, the event serves as a meeting point for winegrowers, wineries and representatives of the municipalities linked to the appellation. Participants in this year’s edition included Eduardo Ibáñez, president of the Campo de Borja PDO Regulatory Council; Ainzón Mayor Paula Cruz; Arancha Simón, Aragón’s regional minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Food; and provincial deputy Eduardo Arilla.
A traditional festival during an early harvest season
The 2026 harvest therefore highlights the contrast between the festival’s traditional schedule and the pace of work in the vineyards. The intense heat experienced over the summer accelerated ripening and led growers to begin harvesting in early August, according to information published by Heraldo de Aragón.
The early start makes this an especially early harvest, while the Harvest Festival retains the symbolic role through which Campo de Borja marks the beginning of a new winemaking cycle each year.
The day began at 10:30 a.m. with the reception of officials and guests in the Plaza Mayor, followed by the crowning of the Harvest Queen. A traditional Aragonese mass was then held at the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Piedad, accompanied by the Fuendejalón Jota Group.
The main event followed at noon, featuring the tribute to wine and grape treading. The program concluded with an aperitif offered by Ainzón Town Hall and a tasting of wines from wineries belonging to the appellation.
Grenache at the heart of the region
The celebration once again highlights the relationship between vine cultivation and the Campo de Borja region. Grenache holds a central place in this winegrowing identity: the appellation itself puts the area planted with the variety at around 5,000 hectares, spread across three zones at different elevations.
Beyond its festive dimension, the harvest marks the culmination of work carried out in the vineyards throughout the year and the start of the process that will determine the characteristics of wines from the new vintage. In 2026, that cycle has once again underscored the influence weather conditions can have on grape ripening and harvest dates.
The 36th Harvest Festival in Ainzón retained the events traditionally associated with the date, even as the countryside followed a different calendar this year. By the time the first must of 2026 was symbolically extracted, much of the harvest season had already been underway for several weeks.
