Santa Rosa sisters crowned at World Champion Grape Stomp

Out of all of Wine Country’s treasured traditions, one of the most beloved is the zany, messy World Champion Grape Stomp at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

Teams of family members and friends pair up - one as grape stomper and one as swabber - to see who can squish the most juice out of grapes in a barrel in the time allowed. The swabber’s job is to sweep the grapes toward the stomper’s feet for maximum production and catch the juice in a jug at a spigot, all under the watchful eye of the fair staff’s “juice jockeys.”

In some local clans, several generations join the fray each year, wearing their purple feet and spattered legs with pride.

The winners at this year’s 42nd annual Harvest Fair were five-year contenders Angela Carvalho and Dee Dee Lombardi Brandt, Santa Rosa sisters who won the $1,500 prize with an impressive 17.45 pounds of grape juice in the final round.

Brandt, a local real estate agent, credited the pair’s success to the retirement this year of nine-time world champions Michelle and Kopa Kaluahine, a mother-and-son team from Santa Rosa.

“They opened up the field for the rest of us fools,” said Brandt, 46.

The sisters had watched the competition for several years before deciding to give it a go themselves five years ago, trading off roles as stomper and swabber ever since. They’ve made it to the final round only once before, two years ago, when Brandt said they “did poorly.”

This year, “we were very surprised to win,” said Carvalho, 47, who does home staging professionally. “It was shocking.”

The three-day competition drew 144 contestants from as far away as Australia and England, said Jane Engdahl, special events coordinator for the fair.

Decorations from the Harvest Fair will be offered for public sale this morning in the Hall of Flowers building. Items include treated and untreated straw bales, gourds, pumpkins, cornstalks and other fall decor. Cash or credit only, no checks.

All wines will be marked down 20 percent in a clearance sale from 9 a.m. to noon.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect spelling for Dee Dee Lombardi Brandt.

Staff Writer Dan Taylor contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.