Grape Harvesting and Stomping in Sonoma County

I am continually blown away by the activities available in Sonoma County. It feels like every weekend we have something new and fun to try. 

This past weekend, we checked off one of our California bucket list items and joined Old World Winery in their grape harvesting and stomping. If you’re planning a trip to northern California in September, you’re just in time, many wineries are picking and stomping this month. You should have no trouble finding a fun event like this to participate in!

Grape harvesting

If you’re going to do the fun part (stomping) you’ve got to participate in the hard part (harvesting). We got up at 5:15 a.m. on a Saturday to meet a couple dozen strangers at Old World Winery. Darek Trowbridge, the owner, rallied everyone together for a run-down of the day’s events and then we drove over to the vineyard to begin our day.

The sun was rising as we drove to the vineyard, and by the time we got there the lighting was spectacular.

Choose your weapon

Upon arrival, you had a choice to make: Are you going to cut the grape vines with a serrated knife, or use the pruner?

Darek, the owner, explained that seasoned grape harvesters use the knife, but that the knife is a little tricky to work with and even the most experienced harvesters still cut themselves on occasion. I chose the pruner, Michael used the knife.

Three hours of harvesting

We arrived at the vineyard around 7:00 a.m. and were driving back to start the stomping by 10:00 a.m. This will vary, however, based on the winery and the week you participate in harvesting.

Following the harvesting, we were at the vineyard for about two and half more hours, stomping and eating lunch.

Stomping

We enjoyed grape harvesting far more than we expected we would. But the real highlight of the day was the stomping! I was the second person of our large group to hop in, and it was cold.

We learned a few good tips for grape stomping, should we ever come across this opportunity again:

1. Start in the bottom corner, and smash one layer of grapes at a time. Otherwise the entire batch just settles on top and you pack it into sections, like a triple layer cake.
2. Hold onto the corner of the tub at all times. It’s slippery in the middle!
3. Step out occasionally to thaw your feet. It’s about 45 degrees in the bucket.

Clothing tips

If you’re harvesting, wear a waterproof jacket. Everyone left the vineyard wet from the waist up. You’ll also want to wear tennis shoes when walking through the vineyards.

When stomping, you need to wear shorts that are at your knees or higher. I recommend bringing a pair of sandals to change in to. 

How much stomping?

After 30 minutes we were all out of grapes and produced something that resembled a sangria.

One attendee remarked that the stomping is really just for the enjoyment of the guests and that no matter what, the vineyard has to put it through the usual production methods. Old World Winery is unique. They use every bit of what we stomped, after cleaning our foot germs out of it, of course.

Old World Winery likes to involve the community in their harvesting and stomping because they say the good vibes from the residents make the wine taste better. 

 

The picnic

After the stomping, Darek invited the group over to the patio to enjoy some good food, good conversation and amazing wine. Next year, what we stomped will be poured into the glasses of those that helped with the 2019 stompings.

 

I have been raving about this experience to all of my friends. If you’re in northern California is September, grape harvesting and stomping is an absolute must. You can’t beat a day like this. Then again, this seems to be a very typical weekend activity in Sonoma County.

Sign up for the Old World Winery Wine Club to be invited to member events like this one, and be sure to check out their Facebook page.

Thanks for reading,

Emma