The Madeira Wine Festival celebrations are a tribute to the effort involved in its production and at the same time serves to promote and to reaffirm Madeira Islands as a tourist destination of excellence overseas. This event has been commemorated since the late seventies. Nowadays these festivities begins in Funchal downtown area, and include the European Folklore Week, ornamentations, exhibitions, displays and live portrays depicting Madeira wine and the craft involved in its production, in addition to a diversity of concerts based on light music and traditional music shows.
From August, 27th onwards, the city of Funchal, and especially the Avenida Arriaga pedestrian street, is filled with various adornments comprising several tools used in the art of viticulture (presses, casks, barrels, grape picking baskets, traditional means of transportation), Includes displays and re-enactments of the wine-making process in Madeira (grape pressing, re-enactment of the regional craftsmen traditional customs), apart from the local gastronomy, the typical Madeira wine tastings and exhibitions on Madeira and regional handicrafts. Throughout the four days of this festival several concerts will be taking place with performances by local folklore and traditional Madeiran music groups apart from other music concerts by Madeira light Orchestra, The Wine Festival culminates on Sunday September 10th, with a bold agenda filled with lots of entertainment.