Come stomp the grapes at Lu Mil

ELIZABETHTOWN – It’s almost time to take your shoes off and get to work as it’s “Grape Stomping” season throughout the world and also here in Southeastern North Carolina.

Lu Mil Vineyard is about to hold its 18 ^th annual North Carolina Grape Festival in Elizabethtown Oct. 12.

The day kicks off with a pancake breakfast hosted by Emereau Bladen Charter School which will be held at Lu Mil Vineyard’s general store and for $10 you can get a plate of cakes and sausage. They are working on a cash only basis. The proceeds will go toward the Emereau Bladen Charter School’s new athletic/performing arts center.

From breakfast you can tour the grounds and vendors who will be setting up for the event or you can pick up a bucket and pick a bucket of grapes in Lu Mil’s “Muscadine Grapes U-Pick.” You can check in at the gift shop for a bucket. It will cost $1 per person and $1 a pound for your harvest. This is the last day for U-pick for the 2024 season.

“Last year they set up a booth,” Kayla Bridgers, event organizer said. “My sister, Aleigh King does the marketing at Emereau so that’s kind of where the connection came. I told her that I thought it would be a great way for them to raise money. They are going to have parents volunteer to do the cooking.”

According to Lu-Mil co-owner, Denise Bridgers, the vineyard is providing the venue and the people for this very worthwhile event.

The event comes on a type of weekend jamboree in Elizabethtown as almost 1,000 Cyclists from Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast tour hits town, Friday, Oct. 11 and the annual Pink-Out with live band, The Pink Slips will be playing in downtown Elizabethtown. The Grape Festival is Saturday and then out at Cape Fear Vineyard and Winery, the first annual Elizabethtown Smithfield Cup barbecue competition will be taking place. While Columbus discovered America on that weekend so long ago, people will be coming to discover all that the grape-rich areas of North Carolina will have to offer.

The vendors will begin setting up for the Grape Festival at 8 a.m. According to Bridgers, there should be in the neighborhood of 150 vendors this year.

“When I talk about the vendors, that is craft vendors, business vendors, nonprofits, schools and boutiques,” Kayla Bridgers said. “There are a lot of local vendors that set up for the day. We got a little bit for everybody. We have face painting, gem mining for kids to bounce houses to decorative art yard creations. We have the live band and the wine tasting for adults, so whatever your tastes, you can find it here on that day. I also have 20 food vendors.”

One of the new food vendors appearing at this year’s festival called “Chocolate and S’more” from Winnabow, North Carolina. Their business features any kind of s’more that you could imagine and so much s’more. Other food vendors include Italian food, returning favorite “Wild Sunflower and Pizza,” “Yummy Hibachi,” “Still Smokin’ barbecue,” kettle corn, brisket, Mexican cuisine, ice cream specialties along with regular fair food such as funnel cakes, hot dogs, hamburgers and foods on sticks.

One of the more popular activities of the day is the “Grape Stomp.”

“Our annual grape stomp is what brings everybody, besides the food and the wine,” she said. “People will take their shoes off and the competition has an adult category and a child’s category and they stomp grapes. They have a certain amount of time when the music plays and they stomp the grapes as fast as they can. We weigh how much juice comes out and whoever has the most, they have first and second place cash prize awards. It starts at 11 a.m. and you register at 10 a.m. After the stomp, we have hoses and clean-off stations. We actually do not use the juice that is stomped in our production.”

At last year’s festival there were approximately 150 stompers who participated.

“They are timed for their stomp,” Denise Bridgers said. “The music is played while they stomp, the stomp is timed and the DJ coordinates with the MC. It is the best entertainment. And then, we’ve had a stomp off before. They were so close in weight for the final that we had to do the stomp off. Sometimes even our Santa shows up to view the stomp.”

According to Wine & Spirit Education Trust, “The image of winemakers stomping grapes with their bare feet might seem like a charming relic of the past. However, foot treading, an ancient technique dating back thousands of years, still holds a special place in the hearts (and practices) of some of the world’s most discerning winemakers. But why do they continue to embrace this traditional method? At the core of winemaking is the process of crushing grapes, a critical step that releases the juice needed for fermentation. This process requires just the right amount of pressure—enough to break the skins without crushing the seeds, which can introduce unwanted bitterness. In regions like the Douro Valley of Portugal, foot treading has always been the gold standard in the production of premium Port wines. Historically, large teams of workers would tread grapes in shallow granite troughs called lagares, a practice that could last for hours. While modern methods have largely taken over, some high-end Port producers continue to use foot treading for their top-quality offerings. This continued use in such a prestigious wine category underscores the enduring value of the technique. Boutique wineries around the world also embrace foot treading, particularly those focused on small-batch production. These producers see foot treading as a way of enhancing the quality of their wines, allowing for gentle extraction and more nuanced control over the fermentation process.”

The festival at Lu Mil Vineyard actually begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. and as always, it’s a free event so that anyone from the community can come and join in the fun. Free to park, free to enter, free to enjoy. It’s also billed as a “rain or shine” event. Umbrellas are not mandatory but may be prudent. One comforting thought is that this event has never been canceled due to inclement weather.

“At 12 we have live music,” Kayla Bridgers said. “North Tower Band is playing in our outdoor natural amphitheater. There will continual music for the entire three hours and an area for dancing will be available in front of the stage.”

North Tower, according to their website “is celebrating 40 years of entertaining throughout the southeast. North Tower has been one of the south’s great party bands for over 40 years, providing the best in Top 40, beach, funk and oldies. Sizzling brass, super vocals and a wide-ranging repertoire all contribute to making your event a night to remember.”

The fishing ponds will also be open for the festival. It’s the last day of fishing for the season. Typically you do have to pay to fish, but the fishing will be free on that day.

The gift shop and wine tasting room will be open during the festival and in addition there will be an outside wine tasting booth that is open. There will be slushies (either wine or regular). This booth will be near where the food trucks are located and in close proximity to the band.

“I just really want to encourage everybody to come out,” Kayla Bridgers said. “We have a lot of people that travel from Robeson County and I would love to have a lot of local people come and enjoy it also. There really is something for everybody.”