Kathleen's Journal

Picking/Stomping/Squishing

You all should have joined us! Tim, Felicia, Catherine, Marjorie and Ivan, John and I drove to Messina Hof winery in Bryan, Texas for a day of fun. After a short orientation, everyone was taken to the vines for picking clusters and The Big Kahuna contest. (A "Ka is a very large, very beautiful cluster of grapes, a "Kahun" is a double-cluster of grapes, and a "Kahuna" is a triple cluster of grapes.") Catherine and Ivan were both finalists and their talent pleased the crowd, although a lady who welcomed audience participation in her song was the ultimate winner. After the award for The Big Kahuna contest, everyone took off their shoes and socks and stomped the grapes we had just picked. It was really squishy and our feel got all purple and, for those who bought the t-shirt, when they exited the tub of grapes they stepped on the back of their t-shirt and marked their footprints below "Messina Hof Harvest Crew." We then had a nice lunch but John was not happy when he found out he couldn't buy a bottle of wine since it was only 11:30 and wine cannot be sold until 12:00. After lunch, we had a tour and a tasting of a Chardonnay and a wonderful Port. All this was followed by a visit to the gift shop where we purchased two bottles of port for sharing when everyone is here for the Cinco Ranch Triathlon.

August 5, 2003: No, they do not use the grapes we squished except in their compost. The rest of the grapes we picked (pounds and pounds) will be fermented and stored and on the shelves in 2005. The grapes we picked are the ones Messina Hof uses for their port.