We thought making your own wine was just for clever prison inmates. But at Messina Hofยs Harvest Festival, you can pluck grapes from the wineryยs picturesque vineyard, stomp them (yes, with your bare feet) into ferment-ready pulp and stamp your feet on a commemorative T-shirt. Pricier packages for the festival include a luncheon, a class from Messina Hof cofounder Merrill Bonarrigo, a wine tasting, dinner and a murder mystery play. Or you can just go for the grapes. Youยll have access to state-of-the-art facilities and expert advice ย unlike many of the countryยs prison-bound nonprofessional winemakers, who just have some grapes from the dining hall, a contraband plastic bag and all the time that damned judge gave them.
Saturdays, Sundays. Starts: July 21. Continues through Aug. 19
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2007.