Grape Stomp draws crowds to Pahrump Valley Winery

Pahrump Valley Winery owner Bill Loken summed up last weekend’s annual 2017 Grape Stomp with the following thoughts:

“I often say that the grape stomp is the Woodstock for old people,” he said with a laugh. “We had live entertainment as well as the ‘Shenanigans,’ which also happened to be the name of the band who performed during this year’s grape stomp.”

Loken and his wife and co-owner Gretchen, have hosted the grape stomp for the past 15 years at the winery’s 3810 Winery Road location.

Attendance numbers

On Saturday and Sunday, the event attracted 85 teams, which is a far cry from the very first event, as upward of 1,500 to 2,000 wine aficionados attended the stomp this year.

“It wasn’t a lot of people but it was a lot of fun,” Loken recalled. “I would estimate there was probably 150 people who attended back then, which was a nice turnout when we were brand new here in Pahrump. It just got so big and the crowds were getting so large, that we decided to add an extra day on Sunday, to spread the crowds out, but now, both of those days keep growing. It has turned into quite the deal.”

Loken made sure to note that the grapes used in the stomp are not from our Pahrump Valley Winery’s vineyard, nor are they used to make wine.

“Heavens no,” he said. “We would not waste those hard-earned grapes on this particular event. Every year, we put in an order to our food vendors to make sure that we have ample table grapes here. They come in bags so that we can make sure that everybody gets the exact same amount.”

Best methods

On the issue of employing the best technique to extract the juice, Loken said, sheer brawn is not the answer.

“It seems that finesse and precision work the best,” he noted. “The women really did well this weekend and they were really rocking as far as the stomp teams were concerned. There’s a hole at the bottom of the barrel and there’s two people trying to get the juice down that hole while one person is stomping on the grapes.”

Incentives

Additionally, Loken said the teams were competing for more than just pride and bragging rights, as there were also prizes up for grabs.

“It wouldn’t be a grape stomp without the cheap plastic trophies that we hand out,” he said. “We also give gift certificates to the restaurant. But I think most people do it for the worldwide glory of winning the grape stomp. I tease everybody during the day that we are being broadcast live on C-Span in 32 countries, but of course, we’re not.”

As the attendance number at the grape stomp increased, so did the amount of vendors who set up shop on the vast winery grounds.

“We have so many vendor requests, that we have to do a drawing every year,” he said. “We had a lot of returning vendors, which is a tricky thing for us because we want to be fair. We just have a couple of requirements for our vendors. We want products that are unique and appeal to the attendees. We also try not to have any overlapping vendors with the same products. The vendors told me that they did extremely well this year. I believe we had a few vendors from out of Las Vegas but most of the vendors were local. We do not take anybody from out of state.”

Playing dress-up

Loken also spoke about another tradition at the grape stomp each year, which are the colorful costumes some attendees donned.

“Without a doubt, this was the best year for costumes,” he noted. “We had a couple that looked like they were Norseman from Norway with the big Viking helmets. There were lots of costumes from that famous grape-stomping scene in “I Love Lucy.” It was a lot of fun because it means that people are really into it. The whole thing is designed to allow folks to let their hair down and have a great time.”

Economic boost

Tourism was another topic Loken discussed, as numerous families and individuals attended the event, he said.

“I’m not saying that people come specifically to Southern Nevada for the grape stomp, but we hear it all the time that people plan their trip so they could be here and enter into the grape stomp,” he said. “We’ve had people from out of state who come every year. Many were from California.”

Reunion time

As a Vietnam veteran, Loken said for many years, the grape stomp also served as a reunion with several of his fellow soldiers.

“This will be about the fifth or sixth of the year where about a half-dozen guys that I served with in Vietnam have made the trip all the way from the East Coast,” he noted. “Russ Lay is from Pennsylvania and he was a pilot who was shot down on August 2nd, 1969, and he came out. My old company commander from Vietnam has also been here, as well as my aircraft commander. It was no different this year and these guys all flew in on Friday afternoon. After all these years, those guys make their way out here. When I was on the stage, I mentioned their names and said they stand for the national anthem, the crowd really responded to that.”

Regarding any changes for next year’s grape stomp, Loken said time will tell. “We are hoping that we will be able to redo the grounds in a substantial way, so that next year and going forward, we can accommodate people much better, with more bathroom facilities, a larger stage and better facilities for serving outdoor foods,” he said. “Time will tell whether we will be able to touch on that this year, or next year.”

Giving credit where credit is due

On a final note, Loken showered high praise on the one person he said was essential in making the grape stomp a big success over the years.

“I’m going to give most of the credit to my wife Gretchen,” he said. “She works her backside off doing everything to make this event as successful as it’s become. She is indeed the driving force here.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com, on Twitter: @pvtimes