Almachar gets ready for a delicious day of Moscatel, music and village traditions

Dig out your stretchy waist bands for a feast, as Almachar is preparing to welcome food lovers, families and visitors to the tenth edition of its “Mercado Moscatel” on Sunday, November 8.

From 10.30am to 6.30pm, Parque Maria Zambrano transform into a delightful celebration of the Axarquia’s most famous crop: the Moscatel grape, made into sweet raisins and aromatic local wines. Get ready for stalls, tastings, traditional dancing and plenty of opportunities to speak directly with the people who grow and make the region’s best-known products.

Why Moscatel matters

Moscatel raisins are far more than a local delicacy. More than 2,000 families across the Axarquia depend on the cultivation of the grape, a tradition recognised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

Growers still harvest the grapes by hand, cutting a small section of vine known as a marquilla. They are then dried naturally in the sun on paseros, the sloping stone beds that give the Axarquian hillsides their distinctive appearance.

What to eat, drink and buy

Visitors can browse a market of local produce, with Moscatel wines and raisins taking pride of place. Cheeses, cured meats and other artisan goods will also be available, many carrying the Sabor a Malaga quality mark for products made in the province.

A highlight comes at 12.30pm, when organisers will demonstrate how to make ajoblanco, the chilled almond, garlic, bread and olive-oil soup that is a classic of Malaga gastronomy. Samples will be handed out after the demonstration.

Wine, folk music and dancing

A wine tasting led by local wineries Ucopaxa and Dimobe begins at 1.30pm. Places must be booked in advance at the Asociacion Moscatel stand, so anyone keen to take part should arrive early.

Live entertainment will include traditional Malaga folk groups, and circle dances, an important part of local celebrations.

Art exhibition adds another reason to visit

The “Windows to Art and Moscatel” display will be open from 10.30am to 6.30pm at the Sala Axarquia in Almachar’s CAD cultural centre.

The travelling exhibition began in Iznate in August and has since visited Competa, Almachar, Moclinejo and El Borge, with Almachar’s Moscatel Market serving as its final stop.

Head out for a relaxed Sunday and taste something new that celebrates the flavours, landscapes and customs of the stunning Axarquia.