WAGRAM— A new grape-stomp king and queen are about to be crowned at the 14th annual Fall Harvest Festival and Grape Stomp at Cypress Bend Winery.
The winery is opening the gates for the festival around 11 a.m. on Saturday and will continue until 6 p.m. Besides the grape stomp those who attend will be able to pick grapes and go on tours. There are two tours planned, a wagon tour of the vineyard and a tour of the winery.
“It’s a fun family day,” said owner Tina Smith. “You can come out and learn about the grapes and the wine.”
Those who wish to participate in the grape stomp will sign up and get the chance to stomp as much juice from the barrel of grapes as possible. At the end of the day, whoever stomped the most juice will be crowned as king or queen.
“Our winemaker conducts the stomp and sometimes people dress up for it,” Smith said. “It’s as fun as you want it to be. We’re also adding two barrels to have four instead of two this year so there’s less waiting.”
There will also be live music from the band The Tonez and plenty of arts and craft vendors to browse through, along with the winery’s shop, and food vendors to try plenty of different foods that will pair wonderfully with the wines.
According to Smith, on average around 2,000 people come out to the event each year though, the turnout does typically rely on the weather.
“It’s a great event for the local community to come out and see what’s happening with the winery,” Smith said.
Cypress Bend is located on 21904 Riverton Road in Wagram and normal operating hours are Sunday through Thursday noon to 6 p.m., Friday noon to 10 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.