I first heard about this annual October event in late September. Local wineries are showcased and their wine made available. I decided it was worth the effort to check it out; a drive of approximately 1 1/2 hours from my home to the historic town of Murphys. The competition is a day-long process, the winner of each heat advancing to the next level. Participants travel from great distances to compete; I met teams from Southern California and as far away as Oregon. They come in costume with cleverly-devised names such as: Cheese & Whine, Gen-U-Wine, Grape Nutz, Our Way or the Chardonnay, Pressed for Time, Que Syrah Syrah, The Grapes of Laugh, Vino 911, Syrah Sisters, Zinful...to name a few.
The rules are simple: 2-persons to a team: 1 stomper, 1 swabber (or mucher); enter competition at your own risk; 25 pounds of grapes, 3 minutes; judging based on amount of juice in weight in bucket.
I so much enjoyed this event, I think I will make it a yearly trek.
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