The first weekend of September we went to the annual wine festival in the little town of Biscoittes. Participation in the wine making process was highly encouraged. In the end, mostly the Americans picked and stomped grapes. The locals came to watch us and then eat and drink afterwards.
You walked as a group down to the vineyards, picked the grapes and loaded up the carts. Once they were full, the carts were brought up the hill so we could stomp the grapes.
It was just like the "I Love Lucy" episode where Lucy and Ethel stomped the grapes. You were able to jump right in (after washing your feet of course) and join the locals in stomping the grapes. They played music, sang songs and enjoyed the wine making process.
I took Owen in with me while Jared watched. By the time I got in, most of the grapes were mashed and it felt really slimy underfoot. It was pretty neat to experience nonetheless.
The vineyard and process as a whole was certainly a little more dated than vineyards we visited in California! (The wine didn't taste nearly as good either.)
