Wine grape harvest is underway in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Photo courtesy of Two Mountain Winery.
More than the crush
For years, wine lovers knew it as Catch the Crush. But harvest in Washington’s Yakima Valley doesn’t happen on a schedule.
Different grape varieties come off the vines at different times, which is one reason the annual event has evolved into Crush & Harvest Celebrations. And these days, the celebration is about much more than watching grapes get crushed.
“Wine country is farm country,” says Jennifer Martinkus with Yakima Valley Tourism.
And this time of year, that farm country is busy. Grapes are coming off the vines. Apples and pears are being picked. Hops are being harvested. Martinkus calls it a “delicious time of year,” with wineries marking the season through grape stomps, vineyard runs, food, live music and harvest parties.
It’s a chance to come to the source and meet the people behind what’s being grown.
At Two Mountain Winery in Zillah, that source is right outside the tasting room.
A glass door looks onto the crush pad, where grapes arrive in bins and the crusher-destemmer is running. Tanks line what the winery calls “tank alley.” It’s noisy. There are fruit flies. And visitors get to watch the work happen.
“It smells like wine,” says Erin Smith of Two Mountain. “This is where it all happens.”
Freshly harvested grapes move through the crusher at Two Mountain Winery in Zillah. Photo courtesy of Two Mountain Winery.
The family-run winery was founded in 2002 by fourth-generation farmers. The family grows grapes and makes wine on site, and Smith says that deep background shapes the experience.
“Our roots are in farming,” she says. “We’re down to earth.”
That philosophy extends to the tasting room. Smith wants wine to feel approachable, not overly serious or intimidating. In the Rattlesnake Hills, she says, visitors can still walk into a small winery and find themselves talking to the owner, who may also be the winemaker and the person growing the grapes.
And during harvest, apparently, racing a forklift.
Two Mountain Winery’s Harvest Games give neighboring wineries a chance to blow off some steam during harvest. Photo courtesy of Two Mountain Winery.
Two Mountain’s Harvest Games give neighboring wineries a chance to blow off some steam during one of their busiest times of year. There’s a precision forklift race, pedal-tractor competition, grape shoveling, barrel-moving challenges and games for spectators.
Smith hopes it eventually grows into a larger harvest weekend, perhaps bringing in the valley’s hop industry and other agricultural producers.
Because the bottle isn’t necessarily what people remember. Smith says visitors may forget the wine, the winery or even the label.
“If we do our job right, we want them to have a fantastic experience,” she says. “We want them to remember how they felt. We want that connection to wine to be positive.”
Crush & Harvest Celebrations take place Oct. 9–11 at wineries throughout the Yakima Valley, with additional harvest events continuing through the season.