Grape camp: Where wine lovers pay big bucks to do hard labor

The real-estate investor took off her shoes, sanitized her feet and waded into a giant vat filled to the brim with juicy grapes. Then she got to stomping.

“The cold little stems on the grapes would massage your feet a little bit." Roth said. “It was cool and refreshing."

It was also a lot of work. She ran in place, holding hands with her stepmother, who kept slipping on the macerated mixture.

The stompers were a part of an elite excursion headed by the Sonoma County Winegrowers that brings “campers" willing to pay big bucks to experience the draining, and intoxicating, work of making wine.

One by one, groups of two entered the vats, crushing the grapes for about two to three minutes. Some were dancing. For many it was a bucket-list moment—and one that will pay dividends. The juice they produced will be used in a rosé that Limerick Lane Cellars in Healdsburg, Calif., plans to make next year.

“Everyone was saying it’s like a Lucy moment," Roth said, referring to the classic “I Love Lucy" episode in which Lucy comedically stomped grapes. “I thought it was just for show, but they were like, ‘Oh no, we aren’t wasting any grapes. These grapes will be extra tasty.’"

She’s eager to get a bottle. The winery said it would let the campers know when the wine is available to order.

The Sonoma County Grape Camp brings wine and adventure lovers alike to drink from dawn til dusk and sample true viticulture.

Harvest season in California’s wine country, which can run from early August to early November, isn’t for the weak. Farmers, who start adjusting their sleep schedules ahead of time, often work through the night to pluck the grapes from their leafy abodes. So campers are carted through dusty fields to pick grapes off the vine, weather permitting, and to watch harvesting machines shake loose the precious grapes at night, preparing them for winemaking.

But like winery tours, the experience is just a taste. The group stays in deluxe digs and eats some of the best cuisine the region has to offer. They also pay for the luxury: $5,000 per person, or $7,500 for two.

Grape Camp began in 2007 as a way to get wine lovers immersed in harvest culture and take them behind the scenes of winemaking. The last excursion was in 2017; a shift in strategy, and then the pandemic, put the annual fall tour on hiatus. It returned this year with the help of Marc and Julia Shemesh, campers in 2014 and ’16 who persistently messaged organizer Karissa Kruse, begging her to bring the event back.

The Shemeshs couldn’t make the trip themselves this year—they had other plans for Marc’s 70th birthday—but the couple plan to hit the vines again in 2026. Marc still remembers the warm glow of sampling roughly 100 wines over the course of camp.

Another highlight: donning protective gloves and heading deep into the vineyards in the early morning to clip off prized grapes by hand.

“They make you work a little bit and let you enjoy the fruits of your labor," he said. After a couple of hours, he and his fellow campgoers were met with a farm-to-table breakfast spread in the vineyard.

This year, a misty rain canceled the clipping excursion, disappointing campers.

“Everybody wanted to be put to work," said Jill Zullo.

The Minneapolis resident and her friend Kristen Kowalski had paid multiples of the trip’s $7,500 fee in an auction that benefited a children’s cancer hospital. She declined to disclose how much she paid, simply saying, “I have an affinity for farming."

The trip cultivated that affection, inspiring a new retirement dream: “I want to harvest for free for two weeks," Zullo said. She has her sights set on Dutton Ranch, a Sebastopol, Calif.-based winemaker.

In the meantime, Zullo bolstered the local industry by joining four wine clubs and filling an insulated suitcase with 12 bottles to bring back home. She plans to split them with Kowalski.

Winemakers are being squeezed by tariffs, an oversupply of grapes and unsold wine and people drinking less—realities they shared with campers during their visits to vineyards.

“After you hear those stories, what else do you do?" Zullo said.

Roth, the real-estate investor, wouldn’t describe herself as a wine connoisseur, though she did buy bottles at many of the stops the campers made. She came on the trip for the experience. So imagine her surprise when she learned that she and her stepmother won the Grape Camp winemaking competition.

For the contest, each team was given a base wine, for example Cabernet Sauvignon, and then mixed in other varietals to create a unique blend. The results were judged by a winemaker at nearby Rodney Strong Vineyards.

“We beat the Food & Wine publisher!" Roth said, shocked.

“I love wine but I don’t know much about it," she added. “Now I feel sorry for anyone who comes to my house, they’re gonna have to hear the whole story."