Sanders Family Winery was the scene of festive fall revelry this October as the Grape Stomp made its return to the valley, inviting residents and visitors out for a weekend filled with wine, music and a competition of furious footwork.
Kicking off Friday, Oct 11 with a concert by Deja Vu, the Grape Stomp continued on Saturday and Sunday with the stomping competitions taking the main stage. Teams of two took on the challenge, with one stepping into a barrel loaded with bunches of grapes to be smashed and the other assisting in keeping the juices flowing for measurement. Medals were handed out to the top contenders and those with the best costumes and stomping style were awarded too.
“Everything went very nicely. It was not overwhelming, which is what we had planned for, so we could ease into it and it worked out pretty good,” Jack Sanders of Sanders Family Winery told the Pahrump Valley Times. “We had a fairly decent crowd, it was pretty steady over both Saturday and Sunday and everybody had a great time.”
Sanders noted that there was an adjustment made to this year’s Grape Stomp that helped keep the pace of the competition more manageable.
“In the past, we used to have four or five heats an hour, with just four teams stomping. Now we’ve got it up to eight teams at a time. The new system works much better, it’s faster and we were really pleased. We had something like 30 or 35 teams compete, which was a little more than we expected,” Sanders detailed.
He also announced that this year’s event will not be a one-off, with plans to make the Grape Stomp an annual tradition once more. However, there may be a slight shift in the date to earlier in the season, “When we’re closer to harvest so we don’t have to go out searching for clusters of grapes to smash,” Sanders remarked with a chuckle.
As to the history of the Grape Stomp, Sanders explained that the event got its start in 1991 when he was the owner of Pahrump Valley Winery. “I owned Pahrump Valley Winery until the early 2000s… and it continued when Bill and Gretchen Loken took over that winery,” Sanders said.
The Lokens decided to sell Pahrump Valley Winery in early 2019 and that was the last year that the event was held. Now, Sanders is delighted to revive what was once a highly-anticipated autumn gathering.
“And now that the publicity is out, I think next year it’s probably going to be pretty much back up to where it was when Bill and Gretchen left,” Sanders added. “We’ll be back to sold-out.”
Aside from the Grape Stomp, Sanders Family Winery offers plenty of other opportunities for entertainment throughout the year, with concerts and events regularly scheduled.
For more on the winery or to view a calendar of events visit SandersWinery.com or call 775-727-1776.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com