Where to participate in grape stomps in Sonoma, Napa counties

The first time most of us saw foot treading — the winemaking practice of crushing wine grapes with your feet — was on the hit TV show “I Love Lucy,” in the famous 1956 episode, “Lucy’s Italian Movie.”

The scene takes place in Italy. In a huge vat of grapes, Lucy and her Italian co-star begin to crush the grapes with their feet — an experience Lucille Ball later compared to “stepping on eyeballs.” A simple miscommunication ensues, which leads to a wrestling match in the grape vat.

But treading grapes with your feet isn’t just about having fun. It’s a traditional winemaking practice that gently extracts the juice from the whole berries without breaking the bitter seeds — a method that has been used for thousands of years.

As technology has advanced, so has crushing grapes. Most of today’s fruit is crushed in less labor-intensive ways.

That said, foot-treading is still widely practiced in Portugal’s Douro region in the production of Port and even at a few Sonoma County wineries, like Ryme Cellars in Forestville.

“Compared to a machine crusher that rolls grape bunches to break them open, foot treading can be a lot more gentle on the fruit,” said Megan Glaab, co-owner of Ryme Cellars. “We foot-tread nearly all our red wines because it can soften the tannins and pepper from the stems. People think we do it because it’s romantic, but it’s actually just a softer way for us to process our whole-cluster fruit.”

Whether you’re an experienced winemaker or see yourself like Lucille Ball, a grape stomp is a wonderful way to get an authentic taste of the harvest season.

Here are our picks for some of this year’s best grape stomps.

Larson Family Winery Harvest Party: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. Larson Family Winery will host a grape stomp at their annual harvest party. Entry to the party includes food from Taco Addiction, wagon ride tours, pony rides, live music and of course, the grape stomp. Tickets are $42 for wine club members and $60 for non-club members, with kids tickets priced between $14 and $20. Each adult ticket includes two glasses of wine. For more information, visit larsonfamilywinery.com.

Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival Grape Stomp: 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. The 126th Valley of the Moon Festival will hold its annual grape stomp in the historic Sonoma Plaza as part of its daytime festivities. Open to all ages, the competition costs $75 for team of two people and includes a T-shirt for each participant. After the stomp, be sure to check out the festival’s other activities, including a blessing of the grapes, artisans fair, kid zone, live music, food, wine, beer and more. For information, visit valleyofthemoonvintagefestival.org.

World Championship Grape Stomp: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. As part of the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, this annual grape stomp in Santa Rosa invites people of all ages to compete in the winemaking tradition of crushing grapes by foot. “Stompers” crush the grapes while “swabbies” direct the juice into the glass jugs. During the final round, 60 pounds of grapes will be stomped for five minutes. Whichever team fills the jugs with the most juice will win $1,500. Costumes are encouraged, and the best-dressed team will get a special award. The entry fee is $40 per team. To sign up, visit harvestfair.org/grape-stomp or email specialevents@sonomacountyfair.com. Bystanders can access the event with a Harvest Fair entry ticket.

Grgich Hills Estate Grape Stomp with the Napa Valley Wine Train: Sept. 4 to Oct. 15. In partnership with Grgich Hills winery, the Napa Valley Wine Train is offering a seasonal grape stomp package from Sept. 4 to Oct. 15. The morning journey begins with a leisurely two-hour train ride through Napa Wine Country, followed by a gourmet lunch, wine tasting at Grgich Hills Estate, a grape stomp at the winery and treats back on the train. Cost is $535 per person. For more information, visit winetrain.com.

Grape Stomp with Sonoma Adventures: Sonoma Adventures has partnered with Grapes & Games to offer private grape stomps for groups of eight or more. To facilitate team-building, the grape stomp is combined with a relay and allows each team member to be both a stomper and a swabby (helper). Up to six teams can compete at one time with multiple heats that can accommodate large groups. Events run approximately 60 to 90 minutes. For more information, visit sonoma-adventures.com/grape-stomp.

You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Doyle at 707-521-5478 or sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @whiskymuse.