GREAT GRAPES! Altus Puts Foot In It

ALTUS — Almost half a century ago, Lucille Ball made grape stomping a household image in an episode of the popular TV sitcom “I Love Lucy,” hilariously stomping her heart out in the midst of confused Italian vintners.

Tonight, celebrity stompers will get into the act (and into the vat) as part of the 27th annual Altus Grape Fest. It’s just for show - and for fun - but vintner Paul Post says grape stomping is “normal” in wine country.

“I did it as a teenager, formy dad,” says Post, the fifth generation of Post Familie Vineyards. “It’s done to break the grapes open so you can add the yeast to the juice. We would do it in small batches to make a large starter. It was common practice.”

Nowadays, most grapes run through crushing machines, but the old-fashioned way is celebrated at the festival, which Post helped revive in 1984 after a long hiatus. It’s a commemoration of his family business, which started in 1880 with his great-greatgrandfather Jacob Post, a German immigrant. But it’s also a celebration of the whole Altus wine-growing region, which is recognized nationally just as the Napa Valley is. Eachbottle of wine produced in the area can carry the Altus stamp.

“Until we get famous for something, I don’t think it increases our business that much,” Post says, “except with wine aficionados who look for that kind of thing.”

The festival, however, draws not just wine connoisseurs but families, offering games, food, music and fresh grapes, along with cellar and vineyard tours, wine tastings and an amateur winemaking contest.