Texas Grapes Are Being Harvested
Texas grapes are being harvested mostly through the interior of Texas. Hybrid grapes along the Texas Gulf Coast were harvested in June and the first week in July before Hurricane Beryl came ashore. As the emerging Texas Wine Industry is blossoming, a Texas tradition of Grape Stomps is beginning to emerge at a variety of Texas wineries. These Grape Stomps are either done in a small, three-foot-diameter plastic tub such as held at Messina Hof Winery or in a six-foot-diameter wood vat as found at Bernhardt Winery, similar to what was in the epic “I Love Lucy” television show. These Grape Stomps are fun, slippery, and produce a lot of purple grape stains on your feet, legs, clothing, and more. I suggest a clean set of clothes to change into after the stomping of the grapes and a towel and possibly WIPES to remove some of those purple grape stains. Those purple stains will eventually wear off in a few days. It does help to go online to find out more details on the Grape Stomp events, including timed stomping contests where the amount of juice from the stomp vat is measured to determine the winner. Those small juice tubes at the bottom of the vat get plugged so use a wire or pipe cleaner to assure your grape juice bucket get ALL of the juice from the vat in these contests. Most Texas wineries will have commemorative Tee Shirts so you can implant an impression of your “purples piggies” on the back of the Tee. In additional, several Texas Wineries have “Lucy Look-A-Like” contests. Several Texas Wineries also host LIVE Concerts. Of course, wine tastings are available at all Texas Winery Tasting Rooms. This is all fun in celebration of a great Texas Harvest of Texas grapes.
Below is a partial listing by date with these Grape Stomps occurring on the weekends when the public can stomp those grapes:
August 3rd
• Messina Hof Winery in Bryan with “Blessing of the Grapes on August 2nd
• Lost Oak Winery near Burleson 17th Annual Grape Stomping Event from, 6-9pm with Lucy Look Alike Contest
• Barons Creek Vineyards near Georgetown
• Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
• Hye Meadow in Hye
• Enoch’s Stomp near Harleton
August 10th
• Bernhardt Winery near Plantersville noon to 5pm
• Hye Meadow in Hye
• Messina Hof Winery in Bryan
• Texas Wine Collective near Fredericksburg
• Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
August 17th
• Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
• Texas Hills Vineyard near Fredericksburg
• Messina Hof Winery in Bryan
• Pedernales Cellars near Stonewall
• Hye Meadow in Hye
August 24th
• Texas Hills Vineyards near Fredericksburg
• Messina Hof Winery in Bryan
• Hye Meadow in Hye
• Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
August 31s
• Wildseed Vineyards near Fredericksburg
• Becker Vineyards near Fredericksburg
• Texas Hills Vineyards near Fredericksburg
• Messina Hof Winery near Fredericksburg
September 12th thru 15th
• Grapevine Annual Grapefest
It is imperative that you plan ahead to visit the winery’s website. We are in the middle of hurricane season so weather is always a factor. In most cases, tickets will need to be purchased ahead of the event to help defray the costs of the stomped grapes. Please plan ahead for an enjoyable day of celebrating the Texas Harvest!