Preston St. festival teaches the art of wine-making
Ignoring the dozen wasps swarming around a large, open-topped crate of grapes sitting outside Il Garage Ristorante, Sophie Raynor-Grignon, 5, gingerly stood up and stomped barefoot in the fruit.
Applause broke out in the crowd of watchers, who had gathered to celebrate Preston Street’s first annual Grape Harvest Festival, La Vindemmia, held Sept. 26-28. With 15 cases of grapes from Musca Wine and Il Garage, anyone who wanted to could participate in a traditional Italian grape-stomping.
The celebration was part of an effort to revitalize Preston Street, and also included traditional dance demonstrations, wine-tasting, special desserts and various displays.
“One-two-three! One-two-three! The top is easy, you have to squish real hard to get the bottom!” said Tony Ronzoni, wearing rolled-up sleeves and a straw hat as he encouraged the stompers. He and his wife, Diane Robert, run Il Garage at 225 Preston St.
Kyra Bélanger-Theil, 7, shook her head firmly when asked if she wanted to jump in. “I’m scared of wasps,” she said. Twenty minutes later, she’d changed her mind and was purple to the knees, pronouncing the experience to be “cold, smushy and gooey.”
Adrian Gregorich, 11, agreed. “It’s kind of like stepping on soft marbles.”
Kyra’s grandmother, Micheline Bélanger, wasn’t concerned about grape stains. “This is fun,” she said. “When they’re old ladies and old men they can tell their children they did this. Probably by then they’ll be doing it by computer or something.”
Teenagers and adults also joined in the squishy fun. Giuseppe Tancredi, 60, bounced up and down to furious applause, yelling, “Olé!” and splattering grape juice up past his bare knees.
“When I was young, I did this every October in Italy. We did a different farm every day,” he said. “The wine is much better this way. Every country would make better wine if they used feet!”
Mary Wood, a local resident who came to watch the grape stomping, said, “This street has lots of character, and if they’re going to have a festival we should come out and support them.”
As the last batch of stompers washed their feet and were given a free glass of wine, the crowd moved across the street to watch local children demonstrate Italian dances.
Diane Robert, who was busy waiting tables, said she thought the event was a success. “People enjoyed themselves. Next year I’ll have a manager, so I can have some fun too.”
She said that the newly-stomped grape juice will be used to make wine, although it won’t be sold at the restaurant. “Tony will probably make about 60 gallons to keep at home,” she explained.
And how long will 60 gallons of wine last? Robert just grinned.
“He’s Italian.”