Montefiascone Wine Festival

A festival that is already history

The Montefiascone Wine Festival is the signature event of this town in the province of Viterbo, in the heart of the Lazio region's Alta Tuscia. Established in the early 1960s, it has surpassed its 65th edition and remains the most popular event on the summer calendar of the Municipality of Montefiascone, held under the patronage of the Lazio Region and the Province of Viterbo, with the collaboration of local associations, wineries, and businesses.

For fourteen consecutive days, from August 1st to 14th, the historic center becomes a continuous path of stalls, wineries, stages, and lively squares: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, Largo Plebiscito, Piazzale Roma, and the scenic Rocca dei Papi, from which the view sweeps across the entire Lake Bolsena.

Est! Est!! Est!!! and the legend of Defuk

The wine around which everything revolves is the Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC, a fresh and savory white wine produced on the volcanic hills surrounding the lake. The name stems from a legend dating back to 1113: the German Baron Giovanni Defuk, traveling toward Rome, sent his servant Martino ahead with the task of marking the doors of taverns where the wine was good with the word «Est». In Montefiascone, the wine was so excellent that Martino wrote the word three times. According to tradition, the Baron never left and wished to be buried in the town.

Every year, the festival re-enacts that episode with a historical costume pageant, the symbolic heart of the event, and themed tasting experiences such as «In the Cellar with Defuk», which guide the public through the historic cellars of the center.

What to experience at the festival

• Guided tastings with local wineries and sommeliers, dedicated to Est! Est!! Est!!! and other wines of the Tuscia region;
• Historical pageant and re-enactments in period costumes through the streets of the village;
• Palio delle botti, the barrel race between the districts that ignites the town;
• Flag-throwers, musicians, and historical groups;
• Free concerts every evening in the squares, featuring cover bands, singer-songwriters, folk music, and DJ sets until late;
• Theatrical performances, dance, art exhibitions, and cultural meetings;
• Food stalls with dishes from Viterbo cuisine and typical lake products.

A free and widespread event

The vast majority of events are free to enter: you only pay for what you consume and for a few special limited-seating events, such as certain themed tastings or evenings at the Rocca. This formula, combined with the unusually long duration of the event, explains why the Wine Festival attracts thousands of visitors every summer from all over Lazio, Umbria, and southern Tuscany.

Montefiascone, beyond the festival

Those who arrive for the festival will find a town worth visiting during the day as well: the Rocca dei Papi with its panorama of the lake, the Basilica of San Flaviano with the tomb of Defuk, the Cathedral of Santa Margherita with one of the largest domes in Italy. All around, the shores of Lake Bolsena, the beaches of Marta and Capodimonte, and the wine roads of Tuscia offer a complete holiday just a few kilometers away.

The Wine Festival is therefore not just a wine fair: it is the way Montefiascone tells its own story, its volcanic land, and a winemaking tradition that has been passed down here for centuries.