On a stretch of Rhode Island's farm coast, a mile from the Sakonnet River, sits a vineyard that helped invent an entire region's wine industry. On the first weekend of October, Sakonnet Vineyard will throw open its gates for its second annual Harvest Festival, a free two-day celebration of the season that runs Saturday, October 3, and Sunday, October 4, 2026, from noon to 5 p.m. each day.
The festival is family-friendly and open to the public, with no ticket required. Wine tastings, food, and beverages will be available for purchase, while the grounds host live music, vineyard tours, an artisan market, and seasonal activities for kids that include games, face painting, pumpkin painting, and balloon animals. The tasting room keeps its regular hours, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., both days.
The weekend's soundtrack shifts across the afternoon. Saturday brings Stefan Couture from 1 to 3 p.m. and Purple Honey from 3 to 5 p.m.; Sunday features The Difference with Isai Mojica and Justin Simmons from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by Take It to the Bridge from 3 to 5 p.m. At noon Saturday, the barn hosts a book signing and discussion with Jamie Coelho, editor in chief of Rhode Island Monthly and author of Rhode Island Food Crawls: Touring the Neighborhoods One Bite & Libation at a Time, presented in partnership with Yellow House. Both days, Juicy Market PVD curates an on-site market of locally made goods and artisan vendors.
That such a gathering happens at all is a story half a century in the making. Sakonnet Vineyard was founded in 1975 by Jim and Lolly Mitchell, who left corporate life and spent the next fifteen years transforming a Little Compton potato farm into a working winery. Jim Mitchell, who had served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and later earned an engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, swung a hammer alongside the crew that built the winery and the house the couple lived in. Neighboring farmers planted grapevines for them as well as the Mitchells planted their own.
It was the first licensed winery in Rhode Island since Prohibition. According to Providence Journal archives, the Mitchells chose the water-surrounded Little Compton site because its climate resembled that of Bordeaux, the French region whose maritime conditions have long defined fine winemaking. They planted their first 120 acres with vines from France, trained on a grid of posts and wires.
The early years were not without drama. When Hurricane Gloria struck in 1985, the Mitchells turned the disaster into a commemorative wine called "Eye of the Storm." Their wines won multiple awards, and Sakonnet grew into the premier vineyard and winery in New England, a pioneer of what is now the Southeastern New England AVA, an appellation shaped by a short growing season that yields wines of softness and finesse, balanced acidity, and bright, expressive fruit.
In 1987, Earl and Susan Samson took over, ushering in a new era that turned the vineyard into a cherished gathering place known for hospitality, memorable culinary experiences, and a deep connection to the local community. Earl Samson once observed that all great vineyards are near water, and that a kind of regional greatness showed at Sakonnet, which by then had become the largest winery in New England, with the most extensive distribution.
The Mitchells retired to mid-coast Maine in 1989, and Jim Mitchell went on to write six books in his so-called retirement. He died at 95 in Rockport, Maine.
Since 2012, Rhode Island entrepreneur Carolyn Rafaelian, founder of the jewelry company Alex and Ani, has served as steward of the property, preserving its historic legacy while investing in its future. In 2024, James Davids and Marissa Stashenko assumed leadership of day-to-day operations, marking the beginning of Sakonnet's next chapter. The pair arrived by an unusual route: they had founded Anchor & Hope, the East Providence company known for affordable canned and kegged wines, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 after a run of pandemic-era setbacks. They told The Boston Globe they would become the new stewards of Sakonnet, bringing a commitment to sustainable farming, minimal-intervention winemaking, and wines meant to express Rhode Island's coastal landscape.
Today the estate spans 169 acres, with more than 20 under vine, and the property is open to the public Friday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. and Monday and Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m. The vineyard's own history is part of the draw: a self-guided walking tour during last year's festival highlighted the winery's past and its sustainable practices, and this year's event again invites visitors to walk the grounds.
Last October, Sakonnet marked its 50th anniversary with a two-day harvest celebration that drew regional musicians, a farmers market with more than 75 vendors, and even a parade of roughly 180 automobiles from the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week, with Jay Leno in attendance. The vineyard has since expanded its fall programming, hosting a Saturday music series through late November.
This year's Harvest Festival picks up that thread on a smaller, more intimate scale, but with the same spirit: a working farm and winery, a coastal landscape, and a community invited in for free. For anyone who has never driven the farm coast to Little Compton, the first weekend of October offers an easy reason to go. The vines are still there, the tasting room is open, and the gates, for two days, are open to everyone.