Recently we made a day trip to the Sebring-Lake Placid area for the Grape Stomping Festival at Henscratch Farms Vineyard & Winery. Non-Floridians may be surprisd to learn that this southern state is actually home to about a dozen and a half wineries. Most are growing grapes that have been bred for the hot and humid conditions of Florida--muscadine and its its white/green variation--scuppernong.
Henscratch is a small (10 acres) family operation. In addtion to the vineyard and winery, they produce blueberries and hydroponic strawberries. A flock of free-range chickdens roams the farm--their eggs available at the country store. They are also part of a pest management program underway with Florida A&M. The theory is that the chidkens eat the bugs which would be harmful to the grapevines and reduce the need for pesticides.
But the real attraction for us, other than to see a bit more of 'old Florida, was the grape stomp! For the price of admission we got to kick off our shoes, climb in a tank loaded with scuppernongs (nope, not the purple grapes) and stomp for 30 seconds. There was a certain childish delight in crushing those squishy grapes underfoot. Unfortunately, the scuppernongs have sizeable seeds, which makes it a bit like stomping on pebbles. Oh well, it was only 30 seconds, long enough for a photo op. And now we can cross grape-stomping off our bucket list.
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