Wine making in California is as old as the missions. When the Spanish built a chain of 21 missions from San Diego to Northern California, they began bringing the things they cherished from their homeland--including plantings to grow wine grapes so that they could enjoy a favorite beverage. The year was circa 1775.

But older references offshore are referenced over 2,500 years ago in 582 BC - Founded in 582 BC, Agrigento lies on Sicily's southern coast. The island area famous for ruins is a rich mix of Greek, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, French and North African influences. "The festival will acquaint children with their grandparents' history," says ...Founded in 582 BC, Agrigento lies on Sicily's southern coast. The island area famous for ruins is a rich mix of Greek, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, French and North African influences. "The festival will acquaint children with their grandparents' history," says Pardo. "The dances and music portray the people fishing, cutting grain to sustain themselves, and the trials, tribulations and joys of agrarian life." Wine and pastrymaking demonstrations are set. And a grape-stomping ... Show more Show less

Grape stomping  with your bare feet is great fun--but in the U.S. it's 100% fun. You can't produce and sell wines made  by stomping grapes with your bare feet, even if your winery is named Barefoot Wines.  There's something primal about getting in a vat with cool grapes and feeling the weight of your body work to break the skins, as the even cooler contents- the pulp and juices ooze out.  The popularity of this activity has created an entire events cottage industry that many wine consortiums and some private wineries throughout California include in their annual activities to celebrate a wine release, a seasonal harvest, and other such events.

"Crush" is the season when grapes are picked and crushed. At this time of year, the entire Wine Country celebrates its harvest with street fairs, festivals, and grape stomps.  One of the funniest wine stomping sessions is commemorated in a 1956 black & white I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy's Italian Movie" (also known as the "Grape-stomping". On route to Italy, an Italian producer offers Lucy a role in a film called "Bitter Grapes." So she decides to take a job in a vineyard to absorb a little local color and in typical Lucy fashion, becomes over-zealous when assigned to the same vat as a seasoned Italian stomper. Lucy gets pushed into the grapes, her skin turns a lovely shade of purple and her film career hopes are once again dashed.

 

Here are some annual California Grape Stomps and events to add to your happy trails travels--

 

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 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 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.

Saturday, October 2, 2010 - Murphys, Ca 9:30am to 5:00pm The annual Grape Stomp event in the Murphys Community Park has become one of the most anticipated events of the year, drawing a large crowd of stompers and spectators from around California. The Stomp is organized by the Calaveras Winegrape Alliance, an organization of Calaveras County wineries and features the stomping competition, silent and live auctions as well as art, food, street fair and of course…wine!

The Grape Stomp! The event created to celebrate crush wouldn't be complete without the Grape Stomp Competition, which fills up quickly every year. Two person teams line up on a stage to stomp and muck the grapes, to see who can create the most juice. The stomper's job is to get in the wine barrel and use their feet to crush the grapes. The mucker's responsibilities are to bend down and aid in the flow of juice from the barrel out the spout into the measuring bucket. It has evolved into quite the contest, teams coming back every year with their eye on the prize; most competitors opt to wear wild costumes making the spectacle even greater. For those who aren't ready to jump into the barrel, the Gold Rush Street Fair provides hours of strolling through unique gifts, art, food, beer and local Calaveras Wine. It is truly an entertaining afternoon for the whole family. calaveraswines.org

582 BC - Founded in 582 BC, Agrigento lies on Sicily's southern coast. The island area famous for ruins is a rich mix of Greek, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, French and North Africn influences. "The festival will acquaint children with their grandparents' history," says ...Founded in 582 BC, Agrigento lies on Sicily's southern coast. The island area famous for ruins is a rich mix of Greek, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, French and North Africn influences. "The festival will acquaint children with their grandparents' history," says Pardo. "The dances and music portray the people fishing, cutting grain to sustain themselves, and the trials, tribulations and joys of agrarian life." Wine and pastrymaking demonstrations are set. And a grape-stomping ... Show more Show less