Veramar Vineyard is excited to celebrate Virginia Wine Month with their 15th annual Rock the Grapes! Festival on Saturday, Oct. 21. The grape stomping festival is one of Berryville’s beloved traditions and is a great opportunity to taste award-winning wines from three Virginia wineries, including Veramar Vineyard, James Charles Winery & Vineyard in Winchester and Bogati Winery in Round Hill.
From 2–4 p.m., guests will have the opportunity to stomp excess grapes from Veramar’s estate vineyards in their own handcrafted barrels. Coy Ferrell, director of marketing for the Bogaty Family Wine Group, provided us with an inside look into the grape stomping process.
“We have several wine barrels cut in half and made into buckets,” explains Ferrell. “We drill a hole at the bottom so the juice flows out via a little piece of PVC pipe. We [then] put a small bucket on the ground so it fills up with juice as you stomp the grapes. We usually encourage people to race to see who can fill up their little bucket first.”
As a souvenir for your grape stomping experience, you can purchase one of Veramar’s “Crushed It” T-shirts specially designed to be imprinted and dyed with your post-stomping foot. Ferrell urges festival guests to arrive early to guarantee their spot in the grape stomping competition. “We only have so many grapes,” he says, “and it’s first-come, first-serve.”
This year’s celebration will also feature an array of live performances by Northern Virginia’s Deja Blue Blues Band and The Cruisers of Hagerstown, Md. Delicious fare will be provided by Winchester’s 3Fires Oven Pizza and Crim’s Kettle Corn, and Hillbilly BBQ of Lovettsville.
Rock the Grapes! Festival will be held from noon–5 p.m., rain or shine, at Veramar Vineyard, located at 905 Quarry Rd., Berryville. Tickets for Saturday’s event may be purchased in advance for $10 for nonmembers and $8 for Estate Club members. Tickets may also be purchased at the gate for $15. Price includes admission into the Rock the Grapes! Festival, a souvenir wine glass and two tasting vouchers redeemable at all three winery tastings. To purchase tickets, please visit here.
Author: Grace Silipigni
