With our Harvest Festival just around the corner, here are a few fun facts about the grape stomp!
*For centuries, stomping grapes was the method used to extract juice from the fermented grapes. Grape stomping works because the pressure from human force is gentle enough so the seeds won’t break-creating bitterness.
*Grape stomping is also known by the French term "pigeage" that translates to punching down.
*It is believed the practice of grape stomping dates back to ancient Rome with Maenads, the female followers of Dionysus – the god of winemaking.
*One of the earliest existing visual representations of grape stomping is on a Roman sarcophagus showing a group of demigods harvesting and stomping grapes at a Roman festival.
Each year, the World Championship Grape Stomp is held in Sonoma County, California. Mechanization of the wine process has largely replaced grape stomping in modern wine making today.
Come out on October 7th and join us for our Annual Grape Stomp Harvest Festival for hayrides, grape and wine tastings, a terrific luncheon and of course the Stomping of the Grapes! Visit our Events page for details!