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Grape-treading or grape-stomping is part of the method of maceration used in traditional wine-making.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 or by another mechanized method, grapes are repeatedly trampled in vats by barefoot participants to release their juices and begin
Roman sarcophagus, c. 290-300 AD.
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'' and the film based on it, taking place in a wine-producing Italian town during WWII, include a grape treading scene which has a major role in the battle of wits between the townspeople and their German occupiers.
World Championship Grape Stomp
via Sonoma County Harvest Fair {{wine-stub Winemaking Barefoot Food processing
Grape-treading or grape-stomping is part of the method of maceration used in traditional wine-making.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 or by another mechanized method, grapes are repeatedly trampled in vats by barefoot participants to release their juices and begin fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
. Grape-treading was widespread in the history of winemaking, 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 Empiresarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
from the 3rd century AD, which depicts an idealized pastoral
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
scene with a group of Erotes 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 housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...
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 song "Stomp Them Grapes", the ''I Love Lucy
''I Love Lucy'' is an American television 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 show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...
'' 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'' and the film based on it, taking place in a wine-producing Italian town during WWII, include a grape treading scene which has a major role in the battle of wits between the townspeople and their German occupiers.
See also
*Posting (laundering process)
Posting or postadh (Scottish Gaelic) is a term formerly used in Scotland for a process in washing clothes. It means to trample with the feet, or the act of trampling or treading. In scouring woollen clothing, blankets or coarse linen, when the s ...
, a method of treading laundry with the feet.
* Winepress
References
External links
World Championship Grape Stomp
via Sonoma County Harvest Fair {{wine-stub Winemaking Barefoot Food processing