Duplin Winery at 50: The First Ever Grape Stomp

April 11, 2017

Whenever Duplin co-founder David Fussell Sr. got an idea, everyone knew it would turn into something unforgettable. So, when the consummate showman invited everyone to stomp grapes for Duplin’s first-ever batch of wine back in 1976, hundreds of people showed up.

And folks still talk about what happened...

Grape Stomp’s debut, in 1976, had tough competition. America was celebrating its Bicentennial. Fireworks and festivals were everywhere. David Sr. knew he had to make a splash while getting grapes crushed. Back then, Duplin didn’t have a huge production facility. Everything was done manually, from licking labels to crushing fruit. David Sr. booked a band. There was stomping, laughing, singing, and dancing.

“Man, it was the time of our lives,” his son, Dave Fussell Jr. says.

David Fussell Sr. cheers on stompers in the early days of the Grape Stomp harvest festival at Duplin Winery in Rose Hill, N.C.

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s…

Wanting the world to see the excitement brewing in tiny Rose Hill, N.C., Dave Sr. invited a newspaper reporter to the first Grape Stomp. He made sure the journalist won a trophy in the contest that determined whose stomping produced the most juice. Dave Sr. figured the plan would cinch an article, but he had reinforcements anyway.

“As he is presenting this trophy to this fellow, here comes this huge helicopter. CHOPA, CHOPA, CHOPA,” Dave Jr. says.

Dave Sr. had secretly arranged Fort Bragg U.S. Army rangers to drop in and nab the reporter’s trophy. As three rangers slid down ropes dangling from the aircraft to the stage, spinning helicopter blades whipped up the wind.

“Dresses were flying everywhere. Wine cups were flying everywhere. And the drum set took off into the highway,” Dave Jr. says. “Yes, we got written up in the paper.”