California may have its Napa Valley Wine Country, Texas has GrapeFest.The largest wine festival in the Southwest, and named a Top 100 Event in North America for 2007 by the American Bus Association, GrapeFest will be held for its 21st consecutive year in Grapevine.

“Texas is the fifth largest wine producing state in the nation” Lewis said. “Texas is close to surpassing Oregon to be one of the prominent winery states in the US.”

GrapeStomp is an event Grapevine Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director of Marketing Barry Lewis described as a “favorite of the college-aged crowd.” Two contestants face off stomping 18 pounds of grapes in a barrel for one minute each, then the person who produces the most juice wins.

A new event this year, is the “Here’s to Beer” Pavilion. This pavilion will feature premium ales and beers primarily from Anheuser-Busch Co. Lewis said to expect education on the different brewing and tasting processes for beer.

A key event at GrapeFest, the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, is the “largest consumer-judged wine competition in the nation,” Lewis said. This year, 37 Texas wineries will be participating, with a total of 127 Texas wines to be sampled.