September 19th – Murphys, CA – On Saturday, October 1, 2022, about 5000 people will attend the 29th Annual Calaveras Grape Stomp at Murphys Community Park where 120 teams from near and far will compete for title of Top Stomper! The 29th Annual Calaveras Grape Stomp has grown into California’s Oldest and Largest Grape Stomp Competition. Teams of two will assign one Stomper and one Swabber to compete in a half barrel filled with 25 pounds of grapes. Each team has three minutes to produce as much juice as possible to win that heat and move onto the next round. There are two semi-final heats before the top teams move on to compete in the championship round! Additional grapes are added to the barrels if needed for a five minute stomp in the championship round. Attendees can watch the competition for free or teams of two can register in advance for $80 per team. The event takes place from 9:00-5:00 and includes a Gold Rush Street Faire on Main Street Murphys, sponsored by Feeney Park as their annual fundraising event. Stomp teams are encouraged to dress up for the Costume Contest in which prizes are awarded. Local wine by the glass and carafe will be sold at the park and food booths will be available. The Feeney Park team will also have beer booths at the park and throughout the street fair as well as food vendors along Main Street. Visitors will enjoy about 100 Street Faire artists and vendors, live music, kids activities and so much more.
Established in 1989, The Calaveras Winegrape Alliance (CWA) is a non-profit organization, dedicated to increasing the awareness of all wines produced in Calaveras County and/or produced from Calaveras grapes. We represent Calaveras County families – making some of the most exciting wines in California’s historic Sierra Foothills region. The Calaveras Grape Stomp Competition was started by local winery owners and grape growers who wanted to create a fun event to celebrate the harvest season and also give back to their local communities. The event takes place in the Gold Rush town of Murphys, CA in Calaveras County, now home to 32 tasting rooms and over 50 vineyards.
“The Calaveras Winegrape Alliance is honored to host the 29th Annual Grape Stomp Competition as we bring together our community and visitors from throughout the state to enjoy this grape harvest celebration. We invite guests to learn why this historical wine region has been an integral part of the California wine industry since 1851,”explains Sandra Hess, Executive Director, Calaveras Winegrape Alliance. “We encourage visitors to plan a long weekend in Calaveras Wine Country and to stop by the Wine Information Center at 202 Main Street in Murphys to pick up tasting room maps and get recommendations”.
Grape Stomp has become a huge community event for local businesses and residence who get together for a great time and to also support the community through auction contributions. Organizations ranging from Dignity Health, Bear Valley Ski Resort, Copper Valley Resort, Gold Electric, Gateway Press, Signal Service, Murphys Inn & Suites along with many others provide Grape Stomp sponsorships each year to ensure this annual event is a success. We can’t thank our supporters enough for all that they do to bring so much to others. Matt Hatcher, winemaker and owner of Hatcher Winery, Home of School Street Wines, has come alongside the CWA for years to co-produce the Calaveras Grape Stomp. He gives his time, resources and wine donations each year and on top of that, ensures that the grapes get delivered for the stomping competition!
Each year, the live and silent auction contributions raise between $8,000-$11,000. This fundraising event supports local organizations, parks, and high school scholarship programs. Members of the Calaveras County winery and business communities take great pride in the Grape Stomp auction and donate generously with items such as outdoor adventure packages, travel packages, golf outings, exclusive winemaker dinner events, concert tickets, gift baskets, wine and so much more. For information about the Calaveras Grape Stomp and Auction or to donate an auction item, contact the CWA office at (209) 728-9467 or email info@calaveraswines.org.
To whomever it may concern,
This press release is inaccurate. I was one of the photographers at this event. Hired by a team who is searching out historical landmarks and locations throughout the many gold country counties to help support and plan a large scale celebration for the Gold Rush. Besides viewing the photos I took at the park, it is plain to see there was certainly not 5,000 people at the park or any of the surrounding locations maybe 10% of that. In fact the way the actual park is set up it would have been nice to have 500 people at that event, but how safe would it be even if a group of 500 people were to fill the park?? The legal capacity of the park may not even be that many people. So it’s ridiculous to say there will be 5,000 people in the park!!??
I was surprised to see not a lot of the local wineries involved, or at least mentioned and given their proper promotional propaganda considering the cost to be a member of the organization. What do they really get for what they pay? Most importantly, many or most of them were not very thrilled with the outcome of the overall event both in the park and the street. One of the associates visited every winery that was open that day. Many were disenchanted with the “numbers” and how the actual event was only promoted a couple weeks in advance. This is really a travesty. Not just to the members of the wine grape alliance, but also to the town of Murphys and the local wine industry overall.
It would be nice to see more events happening in the town of Murphy’s. I remember years ago it was such an enchanting place to take a date or the family but the magic seems to be disappearing. How are the businesses in Murphys even surviving? We tried to find an actual event planner that works for the town or the business alliance several people said they did not think anyone like that was there for the county or Murphys. The town of Murphys even the entire County of Calaveras should have a team that plans events and nothing else. They don’t exist.
It is sad to see the town of Murphys dwindling in the dust of the past. It would certainly be nice to embrace the future of Murphys with more successes than failures. Has anyone in the town thought about actually planning a real event with real planning?? It certainly couldn’t hurt and most likely would help a great deal. If done right, you actually could get 5,000 people easily throughout the town for the Grape Stomp, it just needs to be done right.
I think everyone and anyone that has visited Murphy’s over the last 10 years or has been a business operating from Murphys understands the importance of bringing back the success that Murphys could once boast. There really is no other town like it not just in the area, or in the Gold Country, or even in the state, but maybe the entire country. Murphys is a gem with a color of its own, and it would be real nice if someone came along and decided to remove the dust and shine it up once again.
Anonymous