Wine lovers should jump feet first into this contest!
The first Great Brooklyn Grape Stomp, taking place Sept. 27 at Canarsie garden store Brooklyn Plantology, will offer adults and kids a chance to squash grapes using only their feet — and win some prizes, to boot (but no actual boots allowed). The person who can squeeze the most juice out in one minute wins, but getting to squish your toes in a vat of slimy, slippery red grapes is the real prize, said the store’s owner.
“The purple feet is the fun part about it,” said Patrick Lapide, whose family has owned Brooklyn Plantology for 67 years. “Messier is better in this type of situation.”
Contestants don’t have to register to partake in the pulverizing, but Lapide said they should come prepared to crush the competition — and the grapes — by wearing shorts or baggy pants that can be rolled up. The winner will get a T-shirt and bragging rights, though no wine to wash down the win — at least not from the freshly-squeezed juice. The grapes won’t have fermented, Lapide explained, so the drink would be gruesome.
“I don’t think it’d be advisable for health reasons,” he said.
The grape stomp is part of Brooklyn Plantology’s annual pumpkin patch festival. The fall festivities, which run until the end of October, also include a goat petting zoo, face painting, crafts, and, of course, plenty of pumpkins.
“Our whole fall season is starting now,” said Lapide.
The Great Brooklyn Grape Stomp at Brooklyn Plantology [26 Brooklyn Terminal Market between East 86th and 87th streets in Canarsie, (718) 763–3665, www.brooklynplantology.com]. Sept. 27 at 11 am. Festival runs Sept. 20–Oct. 31. Free.
