Festival celebrates family's heritage, grape harvest

EAST COUNTY — To Salvatore Fiorelli, performing chores after school and on the weekends didn’t just mean taking out the trash and cleaning his room.

As the son of a winemaker, Fiorelli spent his childhood in the 10 acres of fields on his parents’ East County property.

Now in his thirties, his fondest memories are of afternoon walks up and down the rows of grape vines beside his father, Antonio, who also grew up in a wine-crafting family just after World War II, in Sicily.

When he turned 18, Fiorelli left the property to attend Florida State University and later joined the Marine Corps. His father’s death from cancer in December, however, brought him back to his family’s business, Rosa Fiorelli Winery, full time.

As he meets with local winemakers and researches best practices to continue his father’s legacy, he also carries his father’s methods and traditions with him, which includes an annual event the family will host this weekend.

In celebration of the peak of the grape harvest and “prime time for U-pick Muscadine grapes,” the Fiorellis will host their fourth annual August Harvest Festival. For the first time, the event will span two days — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 16 and Aug. 17, at Rosa Fiorelli Winery & Vineyard, 4250 County Road 675 E., Bradenton.

The festival will feature craft beer and tastings of the Fiorelli’s 10 homegrown varieties of wine. Admission and parking are free, however, tastings range in price. For $10, patrons will receive a souvenir wine glass and tastings of five wines. Glasses of wine and beer are also $5.

Food trucks, live music, face painting and games for children will also fill the property.

To Fiorelli, the focal point of the harvest festival is the grape stomp — his family’s way of donating to the American Cancer Society and cancer research.

Event goers are invited to stomp their own grapes to simulate the winemaking process. Although it’s free to participate, individuals are encouraged to make a donation to the American Cancer Society.

As Fiorelli prepares to run the festival for the first time without his father, he knows Antonio Fiorelli will be there in spirit, he said.

“I just always wanted to be a part of this, all my life,” Fiorelli said, while looking out at the property’s spanning fields. “All of this my dad built with his bare hands.”

IF YOU GO
August Harvest Festival
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 16 and Aug. 17

Where: Rosa Fiorelli Winery & Vineyard, 4250 County Road 675 E., Bradenton

Cost: Free; glasses of wine and craft beer are $5; $10 for a souvenir wine glass and tasting of five wines.

Parking: Free

Info: The event features a grape stomp, with donations made benefiting the American Cancer Society, wine and craft beer tastings, a food truck, face painting and games for children and live music. Call 322-0976 or visit fiorelliwinery.com.