Raiza Giorgi

The majority of those who stepped into the vats of wine grapes instantly made silly faces and described the feeling as “squishy” during the inaugural Solvang Grape Stomp on October 13. The festivities, which shut down First Street between Mission Drive and Copenhagen, included a street festival with food trucks, wine tasting, live music and an “I Love Lucy” look-alike contest.

“We have never been to a wine stomp and it’s so fun. It’s a weird feeling because the grapes are so cold and squishy,” said Serena Delgado of Los Angeles.

The event drew several hundred people. It was the brainchild of Ertrgrul Sevtap, owner of Sevtap Winery and a board member of the Solvang Conference and Visitors Bureau, according to Daniel Lahr of the Solvang CVB.

“He made a comment about having a grape stomp as he saw it on a classic episode of “I Love Lucy,” so we ran with it and it turned out to be an awesome event,” Lahr said.

The contest for the Lucille Ball look-alike drew four entries, and it was won by Sonya Dias of Santa Clarita. Her prize was tickets to next year’s event and a bottle of wine.

Steve Suehlak, also from Santa Clarita, took home first prize for his Ricky Ricardo.

For information on next year’s event, log onto www.solvangusa.com.