Free wine for everyone and an old tradition of steep street racing make the festival of San Andres in Icod de los Vinos something very special. Local youth with small sledges race down the steepest streets in town while the new wine flows. Wow! What a fiesta!
The wineries of Icod de los Vinos are highlighting the fiesta of Saint Andrew (San Andrés) by introducing their new wines every year in the end of November. It is an old tradition accompanied by an even older one; the old method of transporting wood and barrels of wine down the steep hillsides to the sea on sledges. This method is developed into a hazardous game over the centuries. Small wooden sledges made mostly from heartwood waxed with resin are used by hundreds of locals to win fame by scoring the fastest speed on the steep streets of the town.
© Photos by Eldar Einarson
![At the top of the steepest sledding street, El Plano. We happen to live very close and could follow the two-day wild event from our balcony](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1-1024x629.jpg)
![Most are using gloves and it is easy to understand why](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1b-1024x565.jpg)
![It starts softly involving the kids](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1c-922x1024.jpg)
![Fathers and offsprings](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2-1024x766.jpg)
![Here they come](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/3-1024x695.jpg)
![Viva Icod de Los Vinos!](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/4-1-1024x576.jpg)
![Still too young, but maybe next year?](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/5-1024x629.jpg)
![A teenager on his way](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/6-1-1024x583.jpg)
![No need for snow here; the speed gets very fast and the race ends in a pile of used car tires](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/7-575x1024.jpg)
![The whole town is transformed into a party ground](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0898-1024x575.jpg)
![The smaller kids are using the smaller streets](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0901-1-1024x575.jpg)
![The fiesta is a big event in Tenerife and roasted chestnuts the main snack](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0929-1024x625.jpg)
![People from all over the island participate and they need food](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0930-1024x708.jpg)
![The streets have become restaurants](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0935-1024x575.jpg)
![One of the many local wineries preparing for the tasting session. The wine is free, but you need to bring a glass](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0960-1024x618.jpg)
![If you don’t have a glass, you can buy one for a euro](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0973-1024x629.jpg)
![New wine, new life](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/0-1024x562.jpg)
![People gathering for free wine and food at Plaza de la Pila](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0977-1024x575.jpg)
![A local orchestra plays old folk music](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_0992-1024x575.jpg)
![Growing up with music in the veins](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1019-1024x637.jpg)
![The street sledding will go on for two days and nights](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1036-1024x575.jpg)
![The street outside our house is packed with party people while the sledges run](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1038-1024x595.jpg)
![Still a little space for the sledges; one in full speed right under me](http://mindanaoadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_1055-1024x575.jpg)