Grape Stomp draws crowds to Pahrump
Wine, food and fun were the order of the day during the annual Pahrump Valley Winery Grape Stomp over the past weekend.
Saturday and Sunday marked the 25th Annual Grape Stomp Festival at the Pahrump Valley Winery.
Stomp participants began battling at noon, each hour, until 3:45 p.m.
The event is structured for two-minute stomping heats every 15 minutes. Points were earned for the most juice extracted within two minutes. Winners were selected by producing the largest volume of juice, where awards were bestowed.
Trophies were also awarded for best costume and worst stompers, as determined by the judges.
Bill Loken, who owns the winery with his wife Gretchen, said he was expecting roughly 1,500 to 2,000 eventgoers each day on the two-day venue on Oct. 7-8.
Free wine tastings were available along with live music from the band Shenanigans of Orange County, California.
The stomping event was founded in 1990 by then-owner Jack Sanders. The Lokens purchased the winery from Sanders in 2003, carrying on the annual venue.
Loken added an extra day to the affair about five years ago, due to an increase in demand. The annual gathering usually brings in locals, people from Las Vegas and other tourists to experience a method of wine production used hundreds of years ago.
Check out the complete coverage of the event in an upcoming edition of the Pahrump Valley Times. See the PVT’s Facebook page for videos and a photo gallery of the festivities.
