By Roxanne Brown
Lakeridge Winery Harvest Festival & Grape Stomp Returns
The sound of live music, the laughter of children stomping grapes and the bustle of dozens of vendors will again fill the hilly grounds of Lakeridge Winery this month.
For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clermont winery is bringing back its Harvest Festival in full force on August 21-23 with a return to the large-scale celebration that has become a tradition for generations of visitors.
The 31st Harvest Festival and Grape Stomp marks the beginning of another winemaking season and the culmination of months of work in the vineyard.
“For us, the celebration is all about bringing the fruit in, processing it and actually turning it into wine,” says Christian Slupe, a third-generation member of the family-owned operation.
Lakeridge Winery has become one of Central Florida’s most recognized attractions and one of the state’s largest wineries since Gary Cox founded it in 1989.
The winery, known for wines made from Florida-grown muscadine grapes, welcomes visitors year-round for tours, tastings and special events, but harvest season remains one of the most important times of the year.
Unlike many traditional wine grapes, muscadines thrive in Florida’s heat and humidity. By August, the fruit is ready to be picked, signaling the start of the harvest that ultimately becomes the winery’s next vintage.
During the festival, visitors can watch parts of that process unfold as grapes are harvested, crushed and prepared for winemaking.
“Seeing that fruit get harvested and processed out is special,” Christian says.
He explains that long ago, harvest celebrations often included blessings of the crop, a tradition rooted in European winemaking regions. Today, the focus is on bringing the community together to celebrate the harvest and enjoy a family-friendly weekend at the winery.
Guests can enjoy live music by two musical acts each day during the festival, browse more than 60 arts and crafts vendors, sample a variety of local food and wines.
Then there’s the grape stomp.
Participants climb into barrels filled with grapes (non-muscadine) and compete to see who can stomp out the most juice. Winners receive prizes, but for many families, the activity is simply a chance to make memories and snap a few messy photos.
Those memories go back decades for Christian. One of his favorite family photos shows him at age 4 or 5 standing in a grape-stomping barrel nearly as tall as he was.
Today, he’s helping organize the same event he attended as a child.
“It’s been really cool,” he says. “It’s a big piece of me and my dad and grandfather are still involved in the vineyard side of things.”
That family connection is one reason this year’s festival feels especially meaningful.
“This will be our first time going back to our all-out harvest festival held on one weekend since pre-COVID,” Christian says.
For visitors, the event is a chance to experience one of Lake County’s longest-running traditions. For the family behind Lakeridge Winery, it’s a celebration of another successful harvest and the generations who helped make it possible.
“We would love for people to come celebrate this special occasion with us,” Christian says.
Photos: Cindy Peterson, Nicole Hamel and Shawnee Coppola
Originally from Nogales, Arizona, Roxanne worked in the customer service industry while practicing freelance writing for years. She came on board with Akers Media in July 2020 as a full-time staff writer for Lake & Sumter Style Magazine and was promoted to Managing Editor in October 2023—her dream job come true. Prior to that and after just having moved to Florida in 1999, Roxanne had re-directed her prior career path to focus more on journalism and went on to become a reporter for The Daily Commercial/South Lake Press newspapers for 16 years. Additionally, Roxanne—now an award-winning journalist recognized by the Florida Press Club and the Florida chapter of The Society of Professional Journalism—continues working toward her secondary goal of becoming a published author of children’s books.
