Blessing of the Grapes at St. Jorge Winery marks beginning of harvest season

Wes Bowers, Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.
·4 min read

Aug. 17—This week marks the annual beginning of the harvest season for many Lodi appellation wineries, and St. Jorge's Winery in Acampo celebrated with its Blessing of the Grapes Monday morning.

Winery owner Vern Vierra invited a small group of friends and family to the event, the first since 2019. Last year's blessing was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's ceremony was officiated by Bishop Myron J. Cotta of the Catholic Diocese of Stockton, who said this was the first time he had been asked to bless grapes.

"It was a nice experience," Cotta a said. "It's all part of our culture, and part of the life here in the valley, and asking God's blessing on the beginning of the harvest. It's an honor to be invited."

Vierra said he and Cotta became good friends not long after the bishop was appointed to lead the local diocese in 2018.

Both men have roots in Portugal, as their families hail from the Azores region of the country.

St. Jorge Winery hosted a day-long retreat for the diocese about a month ago, and Vierra said he decided to ask Cotta to bless the harvest this year during a meal.

"I'm sitting at the table, and I ask him when the last time he did a blessing of the harvest," Vierra said. "He said, 'Nobody's ever asked.' So I said, 'I'm asking.'"

Winery staff loaded about half a crate of Albarino grapes into a crush, and Cotta provided a brief history of how blessings came to fruition.

"The blessing of grapes ... actually the first picking, is to ask God's blessing upon it," he said. "It's very interesting, because it was always done close to some holy days. Either the Transfiguration in August, or with the Assumption on Aug. 15, or up to Sept. 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So Our Lady is very much a part of the blessing of the grapes."

After the ceremony, Cotta said blessing the grapes was not much different than blessing any other food or object, and was happy to be a part of an important day for the winery and wine industry in Lodi.

"I think an important thing is that we in the Diocese of Stockton are so agriculturally centered here in the valley, that the blessing of any of the produce of the land is a great opportunity to ask for God's blessing. And the grapes — you get wine from the grapes, so it's a bonus."

Vierra said honoring and celebrating the Mother of God is very important to Portuguese families, and asking God to bless the grapes, as well as for a good harvest, has been a long-standing tradition at the winery.

"We believe that God is involved with everything in our life," he said. "It's just like sitting down at the table and saying 'Grace' before the meal, the food and the wine. This is the same thing. We're asking for God's help to bless wine, bless our harvest and make it plentiful. And we want to give them thanks for the good harvest and crop we have."

And Vierra's faith has been integrated into the St. Jorge atmosphere, as a statue of the Virgin Mary can be found in the winery grotto. Vierra said he has a lot of visitors ask why he incorporates his faith into the winery.

"I say, when you come to visit, this is my life and my family," he said. "When you come to St. Jorge, you're visiting me, my belief and my faith. It has a lot to do with the bishop blessing my harvest. It means a lot to me, and its just a family tradition that's been ongoing all my life. It's really exiting to have the bishop here and accept my offer."

One of the visitors in attendance to view the blessing was Lodi Vice Mayor Mark Chandler, who said it was honor to be at the event.

"I'm glad to be a part of this, not just as a council person, but as a grower and as a Catholic," he said. "It's just very heartwarming to see that we still have faith in our work. It just reminded me of how connected we are to our faith. It was lovely, it was very nice to connect with the community here."