For many years now, Colloca Estate Winery has held Harvest Fest on the Sunday before Labor Day and invited friends, neighbors, and strangers to join in picking grapes in their vineyard of 14,000 vines.
This year has been different though, as Mother Nature threw a curve ball and didn’t ripen the fruit in time. In fact, the early Springtime shifts in warm weather and frost have been less than kind to grapes across the region.
But the Harvest Fest goes on. And, Mother Nature made sure to make up for Spring with a great Autumn day at Colloca Estate Winery.
True to the motto of the Festival: “FUN. FOOD. WINE. MUSIC. REPEAT.” The festival got off to a great start. Founder, CEO, and Chief Wine Taster Dr. Chris Colloca gave visitors a special tour among the vines with samplings of the wines grown in the Lake Effect Vineyard®. Then at 4:00, attendees got the opportunity to Stomp and Chomp – the annual stomp and pie-eating contest.
First with an old-fashioned grape stomp complete with grapes squishing up through feet and toes. And then with the annual pie-eating contest. Always a highlight of the festival.
And if that wasn't enough, the Lake Effect Vineyard® Stage played host to one of Central New York’s favorite party bands: THE ARCADE. These guys always get people dancing and Sunday was no different.
This year’s harvest Fest may be over, but the fun never seems to stop at the winery.