Are Winemakers Still Stomping On Grapes To Make Our Wine?

You may remember the concept of grape stomping, the practice of crushing grapes with one's bare feet as part of the winemaking process, from that episode of "I Love Lucy" where the characters go to Italy and Lucy gets into a knock-down, drag-out fight with an Italian woman in the grape vat. Or you might know it from the viral video where a news reporter challenged to stomp on grapes absolutely demolished herself falling out of the tub. Which raises the question: Is that really how they still make wine? Don't they have machines for that these days? When we drink the Barefoot wine Donna Kelce sold us, are we literally drinking barefoot wine?

The answer: sometimes. Crushing grapes is an important part of the winemaking process, as it releases juices and allows them to mingle with the pulp, adding flavor complexity you'd have to describe with the more sophisticated wine-tasting terms. Nowadays, most wineries have a machine that crushes the grapes and takes the seeds out, streamlining the process nicely. But there are still winemakers in parts of Europe, and even in California, that crush grapes the old-fashioned way.

According to dedicated grape-treaders, the practice allows them to have greater control of what their wine tastes like. A machine can crush efficiently, to be sure, but it crushes indiscriminately, with no regard for what roughly mashed grapes (not to mention their seeds, which can introduce unwanted bitter notes when crushed) might do to the wine's flavor profile. By crushing the grapes manually (or pedially, as the case may be), winemakers are able to treat each vat of grapes as carefully as they need to.

And if you're a little squeamish about your lips touching something that was once touched by a pair of callused winemaker soles, not to worry: The winemaking process is pretty dirty at every stage, from the soil on the grapes to the possibility of birds excreting into the open-air vats. The fermentation process takes away everything but the wonderful flavor of wine. Just be sure to let the wine breathe.