The premiere of the show in 1889 included the Coronation Ceremony, which has been the heart of every Winegrower's Day since 1797. It rewards the best winegrowers who have been expertly appraised over the past five years by the Confrérie des Vignerons de Vevey.
Confrérie des Vignerons
The official poster from 1889. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Celine Michel
Early days. A postcard of the opening ceremony of the Festival of Winegrowers, in Vevey, 1927. (ETH Zurich)
ETH Bildarchiv
Poster from 1927. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Celine Michel
The llimping messenger, Samuel Burnand, who marched from Bern to Vevey for the 1955 Festival of Wine Growers. (Keystone/Walter Studer)
Keystone / Walter Studer
A performance of the Four Seasons opens the festival in 1955. (Keystone)
Keystone / Str
Poster from 1955. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Celine Michel
The winegrowers are crowned on the Winegrowers' Day event at the festival, 1977. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Confrérie des Vignerons.
One of the many spectacles at the 1977 Festival of Winegrowers in Vevey. (Keystone)
Keystone / Str
Bacchus, the God of wine, represented by Francois Commend (middle) in 1977. (Keystone)
Keystone / Str
Poster from 1977. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Celine Michel
Dress rehearsals begin for the 1999 Festival of Wine growers. The stands are filled spectators, the orchestra to the right, with Lake Geneva in the background 1999. (Keystone/Fabrice Coffrini)
Keystone / Fabrice Coffrini
The followers of the wine God; Bacchus, attending a solar eclipse which happened during the festival in Vevey, 1999. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Confrérie des Vignerons
The last official poster from 1999. (Confrérie des Vignerons)
Celine Michel
This is how the once-in-a-generation Fête des Vignerons (Winegrowers’ Festival), held in the small Lake Geneva town of Vevey, has looked in the past. The latest edition is taking place this summer.
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The origins of the festival date back to the 17th-18th centuries when the local winegrowers’ guild, the Confrérie des VigneronsExternal link, organised parades in Vevey after each annual meeting to celebrate wine culture and the work of the best vineyard workers.
At the time, canton Vaud was under Bernese rule – a period from 1536-1798 characterised by Protestant austerity – and popular festivals were rare. The unusual procession of local participants thus attracted growing attention in the region and from further afield.
Around 1770, the Confrérie, influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, decided to reward the most deserving local winegrowers. In 1797, the decision was taken to transform the procession into a larger event – the Fête des Vignerons – with a stage on Vevey’s market square for 2,000 spectators, who paid to watch the costumed procession recreating the four seasons and a crowning ceremony.
Since then, the pageant has taken place roughly every 20 years and grown in importance. It has also evolved, introducing new elements glorifying the nation and tradition, as well as pagan divinities like Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Musicians and dancers rub shoulders with cow herders, who symbolise the link between the lakeside wine-growing town and the surrounding mountain regions. The famous Ranz des Vaches – the song to call the herds home – is a major highlight at each edition.
In 1889, the popular festival expanded with a stage for 12,000 people. This year, a modern 20,000-seat arena has been built for the two-hour show staged by Daniele Finzi Pasca, director of the Sochi and Turin Olympic ceremonies. Despite the huge logistics and professional expertise needed to organise the CHF100 million private event, expected to attract one million visitors, almost all participants are local volunteers, and many of the themes are identical to those first celebrated over 200 years ago.
Meanwhile, the work of the Confrérie continues. Three times a year, expert winegrowers appointed by the guild visit around 100 selected vineyards to evaluate the quality of their work. The results are presented every three years and the best winegrowers are honoured at a banquet attended by their peers.
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Italian costumes for Swiss wine festival strike sour note
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With 100 days to go before the huge Fête des Vignerons wine festival, news that the 6,000 costumes are being made in Italy has triggered criticism.
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Switzerland’s biggest festival, the Fête des Vignerons or Winegrowers’ Festival, was formally opened on Thursday with the crowning of the best winegrowers. The event is staged in the town of Vevey, on Lake Geneva, and is only held once per generation. It is by far the biggest and most spectacular festival and is characterised by…
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