TELL PEOPLE... you stomped grapes at a famous winery — or, more accurately, brag to your friends about your adventure — and the reaction just might be "pictures or it didn't happen." Grape-stomping, the kind that happens in a fruit-filled barrel, is an ancient pursuit that isn't found at every winery, and definitely not during every month on the calendar. It tends to pop up around harvest, and on special days, too, which means that any stomper's friends who good-naturedly demand photos are simply trying to vicariously enjoy what might be deemed a truly rare experience. It is an experience that's on now, each day, through Monday, Oct. 31, at Grgich Hills Estate. Rather than a single-day soiree of grape-stompery, the winery is welcoming guests each day from 10 a.m. to 4 o'clock who A) don't mind de-shoe-ing and stepping into a grape-packed barrel and B) purchase a $30 ticket (or, if you're with a larger group, $35). That ticket includes a...
GLASS OF ESTATE WINE... "in a monogrammed GoVino glass that you can take home as a souvenir," says the Rutherford destination (that's open to 21-and-over stompers, of course). You'll also place your feet, post-barrel, against a white tee, the better to leave your purply footprints, true and charming proof that you juiced grapes via the power of your legs. That t-shirt is also a souvenir of your day at the Napa Valley winery, so when your pals say "pictures or it didn't happen" when you mention your grape-stomping, you also have a cool tee to show them, too. It's a historic tradition, an activity that has strong ties to cultures around the world and modern winemaking's shared and storied past. And Mike Grgich, the winery's beloved owner, stomped grapes as a kid, making it a lovely place to try your own hand, or feet, rather, at it.
