Wine themed costumes were welcome at the annual Grape Stomp Championship held at Willamette Valley Vineyards event on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
Sunday was a sticky day of fun at Willamette Valley Vineyards.
Dozens of people competed in the winery’s 33rd Annual Grape Stomp over the weekend. The competition celebrates the fall wine harvest by having pairs compete to crush wine grapes with their feet.
Teams are made of a “stomper,” who climbs into a wine barrel and crushes grapes, and a “swabbie,” who keeps the barrel’s spigot clear and collects the juice. Crushed juice is filtered and then weighed to determine the winner.
The lineup during a heat at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. The swabbie assures the spigot in front of the barrel is kept clear of skins and seeds so juice can run out while the grapes are being pressed. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Salty and Bubblz from Cherry City Roller Derby empty pressed grapes from a barrel after a heat at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Carol and Joe Mello enjoy food and wine at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Wine barrels full of grapes await stompers at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Sparky from Cherry City Roller Derby filters skins and stems from pressed grapes to ready the juice for weighing at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Chenin Bural surveys the job ahead as she prepares to stomp grapes at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Visitors were welcome to sign up and try their skill at stomping grapes at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Trish Jackson and Kristin Camillo work as a team stomping grapes at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Chenin Bural holds up the result of her labors after stomping grapes at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Cindy Benavidez and Maureen Vergara show off their wine themed tiaras before stomping grapes at the Annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Part of the skill of stomping grapes at the Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards involves hanging onto to your swabbie in front to maintain balance to get your full stomp on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The audience cheers contestants at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Bubblz from Cherry City Roller Derby cleans the deck in between heats at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Feet are the instruments of choice at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A contestant shows off their costume at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Emma Bural stomps grapes at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Bully from Cherry City Roller Derby weighs and records the final juice product from contestants after each stomp heat at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Mandy and Lucas Sweger show off their coordinated costumes as the “Soul Grapes” before starting their heat at the annual Grape Stomp Championship event at Willamette Valley Vineyards on Sept. 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
