The Plaza part of the Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival got off to a juicy start on September 27 with the blessing of the grapes, immediately followed by the annual historic Grape Stomp.
The event was completely sold out, with 72, two-person teams competing to see who can produce the most grape juice into a one-gallon jug in three minutes. The barefoot competition puts one team member in the barrel to stomp the grapes, and a second “swabber” who scoops the juice toward the spout. This year a beautiful bounty of Zinfandel was divided into five-gallon buckets for each of the six barrels per round. The “Celebrity Stomp,” which included Sonoma Mayor Patricia Farrar-Rivas, was won by the Blazer Team.
(David Bolling photos)
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