The Battle of Wine - La Batalla del Vino in Haro, Spain

There are LOTS of festivals in Spain during the summer and most of them revolve around each town's patron saint. In June, there is the Festival of San Juan, which is celebrated all over Spain, but there is one festival that is pure fun and attracts a lot of attention world-wide. It's called the Battle of Wine, or in Spanish La Batalla del Vino and it takes place every year in Haro, a small town in La Rioja, one of Spain's major wine-producing regions. Haro also happens to be well-known among the Spanish for its great tapas. The morning of June 29th (St. Peter's Feast Day), thousands of people turn out in the streets with plastic jugs, botas (leather bags filled with wine) or whatever they have handy and they squirt each other with wine until everyone is soaked, then they run to the plaza to dance traditional dances... and the wine battle is over until next year.

• Wine Battle Page of the City of Haro Website - for more information on the festivities
• Wines from La Rioja - for more information on the Wines from La Rioja
• June Festivals in Spain - from About.com's Guide to Spain for Visitors