Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007
by Patricia M. Murret | Staff Writer
Squeals echoed from Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard on Saturday as grapes squished, juice splattered and winners declared victory during the Dickerson vineyard’s first ‘‘grape stomp.”
There were plenty of feet ready to mash the purple grapes that were waiting in three oak barrels on stage. Pants were rolled up and shoes tossed to reveal white feet, black feet, old feet, young feet, big feet, tiny feet, freckled feet, hairy feet, feet with bunions, corns and blisters and well-manicured feet with pink nail polish.Not to worry, after all those heels and toes, the juice wasn’t used to make wine.
‘‘It was really fun,” said Rahul Paris, 22, of Rockville, who lost a ‘‘doubles” heat of the grape-stomping, simulated wine-making contest. ‘‘I will definitely try it again next year with more strategy.”
On Saturday and Sunday, the vineyard hosted tours and wine tastings as visitors sipped and listened to the Star Spangled Band of Frederick play heart-stirring cha-chas, jitterbugs and Golden Oldies.
Between sets the vineyard’s co-owner Jim McKenna, a retired Montgomery County Circuit Court judge, used his experience on the bench to be the arbiter of the competitions.
Ever since actresses Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance — the Lucy and Ethel of television comedy ‘‘I Love Lucy” — celebrated the Italian tradition in a 1950s episode, grape stomping has had comedic appeal to the masses — and the Dickerson event was no different.
‘‘You two are a wonderful-looking couple, but you’re going to lose this round,” called McKenna through a microphone to Paris and his friend Pam Woodward, 22, of Rockville.
‘‘It feels like you’re mashing blueberries,” said Stephanie Grodecki, 10, of Germantown. ‘‘Most of the time the skin gets in between your toes and it’s really slippery.”
Grodecki and her father brought ‘‘best friend” Katie Hermann, 10, of Gaithersburg to the event. Hermann beat out her pal and Matthew Kokoski, 9, of Frederick to win a Butterfingers candy bar.
‘‘Squishy and kind of cold,” Hermann described the experience. She and Grodecki warned about stick-like stems.
‘‘It hurts a little bit when you stomp on the stems,” said Grodecki, who ran in place to squish as many grapes as she could.
Hermann, who took first place, employed a different strategy. She jumped on grapes at the back of the barrel then pushed the flattened grapes and juice toward the front of the barrel (and its funnel) with her foot.
Kokoski, whose drain got clogged, shoved all his grapes to the front of the barrel from the get-go, then he started stomping.
