MARK WAITE / PVT Four teams of grape stompers compete at the winery Saturday in the children's competition, one person to stomp the grapes, the other person to keep the drain clear of stems and skin. Pictured from left are Matthew Boguszewicz and Alexis Goodau, Bellamay May and Rachel May, Russell Barnum and Jennifer Barnum and at rear, partially hidden, Andy Ledbetter and Nathan Ledbetter. Pahrump Valley Winery owner Bill Loken is pictured as the emcee. Advertisement

A reporter covering the annual grape stomp at the Pahrump Valley Winery Saturday just had to get into the proper mood of things by sampling some of the wine.

After spending part of the day watching the lengthy Pahrump Fall Festival parade, chatting with different vendors and politicians at the festival grounds at Petrack Park and smelling the dust in the air, it's always a nice change to relax on the grass at the winery, drink some wine, listen to the music and watch the stomp.

Fortunately, the tradition continues for the 14th year, despite the change in ownership at the winery. Winery owner Bill Loken poked fun at himself while wielding the microphone for not being the best comedian, but after some wine, it was all good.

Unfortunately, there weren't any contestants in the costume contest like in some years past, when women sported togas with oversized, phony breasts and hats made of grapes. It contributed something to the light-headed, bacchanalian atmosphere.

A woman with the appropriate first name of Sherry Bayer teamed up with Erik Pugh to win the competition, stomping 1,050 milliliters, according to the judges at the table, pouring the unappetizing-looking liquid into measuring beakers. The pair upended 2003-2004 champions Jan Critchlow and Everett Blaser, who managed 830 milliliters. The winners took home a case of wine, though there were lots of prizes of complimentary wine awarded to ticket holders.

Musician Laurence T and his quartet didn't have much time to play, but their rhythm and blues numbers were a soothing touch while relaxing on the grass. They had time to perform a few tunes here and there, sandwiched in between announcements for another of the stomping heats every 15 minutes. By 4:45 p.m. it was time for the finale.

Four teams of two people each participated in each of the heats. One person stomped away while the other was supposed to be helping to keep the drain clear of all the seeds and stems, which helped the liquid drain faster into the pan.

Contestants looked pretty exhausted after just two minutes in the bin stomping grapes. I guess that would be equivalent to running in place as fast as possible for 120 seconds. I don't know how actress Lucille Ball did it in the famous "I Love Lucy" grape-stomping episode.

Often I run into Las Vegas people at the grape stomp. Word must be spreading about the event. For those of us who'd rather just sip wine instead of stomping grapes, I guess it qualifies as a spectator sport.

It was a good excuse to relax at the Pahrump Valley Winery, which even rated mention on NBC's The Today Show as one of the top 10 places to go around Las Vegas without gambling. One contestant swore he came all the way from Chicago to participate. Another contestant listed his home town as Farmington, N.M.

Loken said attendance was up 65 percent over last year, with an estimated crowd of 1,000 to 1,100 coming and going throughout the afternoon.

Organizers say it's an advantage having two events on the same weekend, with the Fall Festival helping bring people to town for the grape stomp. It makes for more of a festive weekend, along with the biggest car race of the year at the Pahrump Valley Speedway, the biggest rodeo of the year in the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association-sanctioned event at the McCullough Arena and everything else that's bigger and better for the Fall Festival weekend.

This year, after sampling the many variety of wines -- the chardonnay, the symphony, the white merlot, not to mention the red wines -- I felt the strongest temptation to take a nap afterward instead of returning to the Fall Festival.