Overwhelming Competition Brings Fruity Frenzy to Buffalo Italian Festival

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Tre, Due, Uno, — stomp! How else to kick off a grape-crushing competition at Buffalo’s Galbani Italian Heritage Festival than with an Italian countdown?

And who better to lead and host the competition than Peter LoJacono, who recently retired after teaching Italian and Spanish for 36 years at Hutch Tech High School?

On Sunday afternoon, near the corner of Delaware and Hertel streets, LoJacono gathered concertgoers closer together than one might expect on a nearly 90-degree day, just to get a better view of festival-goers kicking off their sandals and dipping their feet into a pool of water filled with red grapes.

Most of them had never seen a grape trampled by bare human feet before, aside from the occasional fruit that fell and rolled across the kitchen floor, or the hilarious episode of “I Love Lucy” that still appears on the airwaves.

The rare spectacle in Buffalo lasted just one minute: sixty seconds for competitors to squeeze the juice — and stuffing — from their grape plot.

When LoJacono gave the order, they stopped stamping and stepped into a basin of water to wash the fruity remains from their toes.

LoJacono promised the crowd, with a smile, a “scientific” measurement. He pulled his trusty tape measure out of his pocket and announced the depth of the juice in each bin.

Most competitors got 1 3/4 inches of juice, one got 2 inches, and the gold medal winner for grape crushing with 2 1/2 inches of juice was 22-year-old Austen Fiannaca!

Fiannaca acquired his grape-treading skills in an honest way. He has family ties to Sicily, he is a former Italian student of LoJacono and he has already competed in grape-treading events.

His advice for those aspiring to wear the coveted gold medal? It’s quite simple, according to Fiannuca: “Keep trying!”