Of course we were welcomed with a wonderful selection of their wines while we were waiting to get started. We enjoyed a glass of the Texas Hold'em, and got ready to pick & stomp!
The wonderful owners of the vineyard, Paul & Merrill, treated us to a short introduction about the history of the winery and the very important role Texas is playing in the wine industry. They have been making fabulous wine at Messina Hof for over 30 years, and they are just the sweetest couple.
Next, it was off the the vineyard to start harvesting some grapes. An approaching thunderstorm cooled things off a bit, but it was still a hot Texas summer night. H and I had an awesome time gathering little bundles of grapes.
We collected several of these bins full of grapes, and there were at least 7 rows that the group harvested.
All the grapes were collected in trucks at the end of each row, and then transported over to the winery part of the property.
Although not too bad to eat (even with seeds), these grapes make way better wine.
All the guests were treated to a little down-pour as we made our way over to the stomp area.
A few more announcements and the requisite blessing of the harvest before the stomping fun could start.
This is the super precious Merrill having a great time cheering on all the stompers. She sent me a very kind letter after she noticed on the blog that visiting Messina Hof was on our 101 List.
Let the stomping begin! Groups of people took of their shoes & hopped into these huge containers to start crushing the grapes and releasing the juices.
A real insider's view of the grape mess!
Hard to tell, but we're actually standing in the vat and looking quite happy.
We were treated to a wonderful sunset that evening that took on several shades of yellows & reds after the storm passed.
Merrill gave us a short course on how to taste wine, along with two yummy samples.
This is actually a fun photo looking out into the vineyard, with the reflection and shadow of the sunset on the window pane.
The beautiful sunset made up for missing the full Harvest moon, which was hidden behind the clouds.
And finally, after cutting, stomping and a rain shower, it was time for a delish dinner.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Taking Zoe to a doggie dermatologist about her bumps.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Taking Zoe to a doggie dermatologist about her bumps.
4 comments:
How long do your feet stay purple after stomping grapes? ;-)
I love the sunset photos! Actually all the photos are great :) I'm very jealous. That's on my list of things to do: go to a winery. And I am curious too how long your feet stayed purple :)
How fun! We don't drink wine, but I'd love to stomp on some grapes. :-)
Oh... what movie was that that they did this? I can't remember the title but I remember the stomping scene :)
Post a Comment