California Grape Stomps Celebrate the Crush, It's a Rush

Annual Grape Stomps in California provide an exciting experience enjoyed by all ages. Several of the grape stomp events have categories for children so they get to feel the soft grapes squish between their feet and get to stomp on the precious grapes to see what it's like to make grape juice or wine. Of course nobody drinks the products made from these events. It is strictly done for enjoyment and entertainment, but you get to understand how wine once was made before mechanization and how the time honored tradition became so important to those who sought this desirable beverage.  In California, wine-making spans the entire state and has become an important industry, along with table grapes, to the California economy both for sales, exports and tourism.

SAN JOSE

Italian Family Festa, Grape Stomp, Bocce Ball,Unique Arts & Crafts, Fun Activities for the Entire Family, Live Continuous Entertainment, Italian Sweet and Savory Specialty Foods, Wine, Beer and Soft Drinks. Time: Sat. Noon - 9 p.m.; Sun. Noon  to 6 p.m. Location: Guadalupe River Park, San Jose, CA. Free.  iahfsj.org

YORKVILLE

Yorkville Highlands Wine Festival and Grape Stomp  Saturday, August 13th, 2011, Noon to 5 p.m. yorkvillehighlands.org

Yorkville Cellars
Yorkville, CA

SANTA ROSA

World Championship Grape Stomp  September 30 - October 1, 2011, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. harvestfair.org

SOLVANG

Grape Stomping Party  November 5, 2011
Location: Sevtap Winery
Address: 1576 Copenhagen Drive #1, Solvang, CA 93463
Grape stomping at the Sevtap Winery, live music, food wine tasting and barrel samples! Only 75 tickets will be sold! Discounted Taxi service available from the Tasting room in Solvang. Contact Sevtap Tasting room for reservation, there will be no tickets sale at the day of the event! Contact (805) 693-9200

ST. HELENA

You Pick It, You Stomp It! September 23 - October 10, 2011,  Time: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

ESCONDIDO

Grape Stomp 2011  August 27, 2011, 4 to 8 p.m.

13455 San Pasqual Road, Escondido, California
orfila.com

NAPA

Napa Grape Stomps

• Harvest STOMP 2011 August 27, 2011,  5 to 10 p.m. Beckstoffer Historic Missouri Hopper Vineyard, 7317 St. Helena Highway, Oakville, CA
• Clos Du Val Grape Stomp September 17, 2011, 5330 Silverado Trail, Napa, CA Fee: Call  (707) 261-5251

SONOMA

2011 Grape Stomp at Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival,  September 24 - 25, 2011  Includes both adult and youth grape stomps!

JULIAN - Come Stomp the Grapes

Julian Grape Stomp Festa

September 1, 2012
11am to 7pm
Menghini Winery
1150 Julian Orchards Drive, Julian, CA
$10 adults 21 and over (includes a commemorative wine glass $5 ages 20 to 6, 5 and under free
Phone: (760) 765-1857

Every September, the Ulian Grape Stomp Festa celebrates the harvest of the grapes at the Menghini Winery. This grape stomp out-does all others by providing two barrels for stomping--one for adults and one for children. The event is sponsored by the Julian Chamber of Commerce.

Tons of grapes are blessed then poured into the barrels. The atmosphere is created with Italian music by Roman Holiday, dancing, Bocci Ball competitions, stomping, wine , a Jumbo Jump for the kids and a variety of food and crafts for sale will keep you busy. Situated in rolling hills covered with vineyards and apple orchards, the Menghini Winery offers an ideal setting for the Festa.

The Grape Stomp Festa is a Julian Chamber of Commerce fund raiser and has been for the last fifteen years. The festa draws approximately 2000 people each year. The proceeds from the event pays for marketing the town, cleaning the streets, maintaining the public restrooms and funding historic preservation projects and events.

The historic mountain village of Julian is situated at an elevation of 4200 feet; visitors can experience the four seasons in picture postcard splendor, only about 1 hour from San Diego.

TEMECULA

Temecula Grape Stomps

• Annual Ponte Winery Grape Stomp  October 2, 2011,  4 to 8 p.m. 35053 Rancho California Rd., Temecula, CA  pontewinery.com
• Mount Palomar Winery Grape Stomp 33820 Rancho California Rd., Temecula, CA 92591
  mountpalomar.com
• South Coast Winery Grape Stomp & Harvest Celebration includes Blessing of the Wine September 25, 2011. 34843 Rancho California Road, Temecula, California. wineresort.com
• Wilson Creek Winery October 2, 2011 Sip, Savor & Stomp
  35960 Rancho California Rd., Temecula, CA 92591
  951.699.WINE (9463)  wilsoncreekwinery.com 
• Lorimar Winery Grape Stomp & Harvest Festival  October 15, 2011  Lorimar Wines - Tasting Room Address 42031 Main St. Suite # C Temecula, CA. lorimarwinery.com

MURPHYS

Calaveras Grape Stomp  Oct 1, 2011  9:30 - 5 p.m. At Murphys Community Park, Murphys, CA. Call: (209) 754-0127.
calaverasgrapestomp.com


PASO ROBLES

• Harvest Wine Weekend Grape Stomp  Oct 21 - 23, 2011
• Opolo's Famous Harvest Party with Grape Stomp October 21 - 22 , 2011 at Opolo Vineyards, 7110 Vineyard Drive, Paso Robles, CA Phone: 805-238-9593. opolo.com

Past events 2010 Stomps

• Calaveras Wine Growers Grape Stomp Oct. 2, 2010 calaveraswines.org
• Soledad Mission Annual Grape Stomp - soledadchamber.com
• Sonoma County Harvest Grape Stomp - first weekend in October
• Yorkville Highlands Wine Festival. Annual event with barrel races, grape stomp, music, food, over 30 wineries, and more. Over 30 local wines poured. Boar and Lamb BBQ, live music, grape stomp, highlands games, rare large bottle silent auction. Kid and pet friendly. Fun activities for the whole family. Time 2-6pm. Cost $60 Address 19750 Hwy 128, Yorkville, CA 95494 Call:(707) 895.2341. yorkvillehighlands.org

 

Southern California

• Oak Mountain Winery Grape Stomp (oakmountainwinery.com). Oak Mountain Winery hosts their annual Grape Stomp with a BBQ, wine, live entertainment and grape stomping. All stompers will receive a bottle of grape stomp wine.
• Ponte Winery Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010 - 8th Annual Grape Stomp Festival (pontewinery.com). Take off your shoes, roll up your pants and hike up your sundresses! Ponte Winery's Grape Stomp Festival-our biggest and most exciting event of the year-is scheduled once again for Sunday, September 26th, 2010. Join us as we take over the Ponte property with grape stomp competitions, dancing, live music and a seasonal Harvest Celebration buffet dinner. Ponte wines, "gondola" rides, and portrait photography by Grins-2-Go will complete this fun-filled event. Sunday, September 26th from 4:00pm - 9:00pm. $95 per person; $50 per child under 12.
• South Coast Winery Blessing of the Wine Grape Stomp and Harvest Celebration (wineresort.com). Celebrate the Harvest with an authentic Blessing of the Wines Celebration. Enjoy wine, feast on BBQ, fresh salads, and homemade cobbler. Take tractor-pulled hayrides through the vineyards, dance and enjoy live entertainment, grape stomping contests, face painting, hot air balloon rides and so much more.
• Sip, Savor & Stomp at Wilson Creek Winery (wilsoncreekwinery.com) in October. Sip amongst the vines, savor the wine country cuisine, and stomp grapes. Enjoy wines, appetizers, hay rides, wine country buffet dinner, live entertainment and grape stomping in your bare feet.

 Grape stomping was once the actual method in which wine grapes were crushed, but today it is just pure fun. Grape stomps in the U.S. are performed in special events and ceremonies strictly for entertainment -- regulations  do not permit use of the wine crushed by human bare feet or with shoes on. Even if your winery is named Barefoot Wines (and there is one such winery,) you aren't going to sell grape stomp wine.

Crush is an exciting term in wine regions. It signifies several things. First, it is associated with the season when grapes are picked and crushed. The first crush is a term you may here, and there are numerous wines that take on a sweet and fruity flavor from the fall harvest and crush of new wines. Countries such as Germany are well known for the sweet, fall crush wines that offer intoxicating, tasty dessert characteristics.

In California's  numeours Wine Country regions celebrate harvests in many ways, including festivals, grape stomps and street fairs. 

If you remember the classic "I Love Lucy" 1956 black & white  episode, "Lucy's Italian Movie" (also known as the "Grape-stomping", you are among millions who associate grape stomps with hilarious grape throwing fights depicted in the episode in which Lucy, Ricky, Ethel and Fred go to Italy. An Italian producer there offers Lucy a role in a film called "Bitter Grapes." She takes her assignment seriously, so she heads for a vineyard to experience a grape stomp first-hand. Lucy gets pushed into the grapes, her skin turns  purple with stains and her dreams of a successful film career are dashed.