Grape-treading or grape-stomping is part of the method of maceration used in traditional

wine-making Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. There is ...

.Clarke, Oz (2009). ''Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2010.'' Sterling Publishing Company, Cheap, BA (2010). ''Mr. Cheap's Guide to Wine.'' Adams Media, Rather than being crushed in a

wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during winemaking. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts control ...

or by another mechanized method,

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

are repeatedly trampled in vats by barefoot participants to release their juices and begin

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

. Grape-treading was widespread in the

history of wine The oldest evidence of ancient wine production has been found in Georgia from BC (the earliest known traces of grape wine), Greece from BC, Armenia from BC (large-scale production), and Sicily from BC. The earliest evidence of fermente ...

making, but with the introduction of industrial methods, it now survives mostly as a recreational or competitive activity at cultural festivals.

History

One of the earliest extant visual representations of the practice appears on a

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

from the 3rd century AD, which depicts an idealized

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

scene with a group of

Erotes In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Erotes (; , ''érōtes'') are a collective of winged gods associated with love and sexual intercourse. They are part of Aphrodite's retinue. ''Erotes'' is the plural of ''Eros'' ("Love, Desire"), who a ...

harvesting and stomping grapes at Vindemia, a rural festival.Wight, Karol (2008)
Roman sarcophagus, c. 290-300 AD.

The J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthiest a ...

Many contemporary wineries hold grape-stomping contests to attract visitors. The practice is also the subject of many depictions in contemporary media, including the 1974

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

song "Stomp Them Grapes", the ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' episode "Lucy's Italian Movie", and ''The Littlest Grape Stomper'', a children's book by Alan Madison.Hope, Morrison (2007)
The Littlest Grape Stomper (review)
''Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'', Volume 60, Number 9, May 2007 The novel ''

The Secret of Santa Vittoria ''The Secret of Santa Vittoria'' is a 1969 American war film distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and co-produced by George Glass from a screenplay by Ben Maddow and William Rose. It was based on the ...

'' and the film based on it, taking place in a wine-producing Italian town during

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, include a grape treading scene which has a major role in the battle of wits between the townspeople and their German occupiers.

Special experience

Harvest experience tours, also known as "harvest internships" or "crush camps," are tours or programs that allow visitors to experience the winemaking process firsthand by participating in the grape harvesting and crushing process. These tours are usually offered during the grape harvesting season, which varies depending on the region and the type of grapes being harvested. Harvest experience tours can be a fun and educational way to learn about the winemaking process and to see behind the scenes at a working winery.

References

External links

World Championship Grape Stomp
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204024721/http://harvestfair.org/grape-stomp/ , date=2023-12-04 via Sonoma County Harvest Fair https://www.vineblisstrip.com/grape-stomping-and-harvest-experience/ Barefoot Food processing Winemaking

History

Special experience

See also

References

External links