The fearless foursome of Fanfare Club members and friends Katie, Dave, Connie and Kim—also known as the Bells Up Winery Treble Maker team—left it all in the half barrel at the Carlton Crush Harvest Festival Grape Stomp Competition on Saturday, September 10, 2016.
During the intense rounds of competition, teams of four get four minutes—one minute per person—to stomp through a half barrel of grapes. The juice drips into a bucket that is weighed and the teams whose buckets have the largest amount of juice advance to the next round and so on, until a winner is crowned. Trash (smash?) talking among teams is encouraged, and rampant.
We’ve got the video here (thanks to our friends at Chehalem Ridge Bed & Breakfast for capturing the feet of fury). Treble Maker Katie later said, “It seemed like four minutes would be a long time, but it turned out to be the fastest four minutes of my life!”
Although they sadly did not make it past round one of the 24-team competition, the Treble Maker team was proud of the fact that they did NOT finish at the very bottom. However, they were also dissatisfied with their performance and have pledged to start hardcore training in advance of next year’s competition.
Carlton Crush Harvest Festival also had professional photographer Shelley Collis of Collis Photography in Newberg snapping photos of the Grape Stomp throughout the day. (Side note: Shelley specializes in pet photography, and considering that all the teams appeared to be made up of rabid grape stomping animals, she was an excellent choice.) The following four of Shelley’s amazing images are shared with permission from both.
Bells Up Winery Treble Maker Dave prepares to stomp as Treble Maker Connie waits for her turn. Photo by Shelley Collis of Collis Photography.
Treble Maker Dave in action as Treble Maker Kim (left) and Treble Maker Connie (right) watch his progress. Photo by Shelley Collis of Collis Photography.
A member of the officiating committee checks on Treble Maker Dave. Photo by Shelley Collis of Collis Photography.
Treble Maker Kim gets ruthless on some innocent grapes as Treble Maker Katie keeps a watchful eye on the competitions’ technique. Photo by Shelley Collis of Collis Photography.
Here’s a few more candid shots from the day, taken by our personal photography support team, Chehalem Ridge Bed & Breakfast:
Dave, Kim, Connie and Katie representing Bells Up Winery in the Carlton Crush 2016 Grape Stomp Competition. This is before the actual stomp. Note how clean they are.
Treble Maker Kim stomping furiously.
Leaving no cluster unstomped, Katie prefers the twist technique.
They’re still smiling, but now they’re all sticky!
Interested in being a Bells Up Winery Treble Maker next year? Let Dave or Sara know and we’ll fill you in on the details.
