Readers of a certain age will remember the iconic I Love Lucy episode where she and Ethel are stomping grapes with their feet. In the episode, Lucy is a tourist in Rome who is offered a part in an Italian movie. She decides to research her role by experiencing traditional Italian winemaking, and thanks to the size of her feet, she is selected to crush the grapes by stomping on them!
A misunderstanding with a regular worker leads to a grape fight in the vat, and Lucy, covered in grape juice, is unable to appear in the Italian movie. An interesting bit of trivia, according to the Ultimate I Love Lucy Wiki, is that California winemakers only donated grapes for the episode on the condition that the show mention that contemporary winemaking methods didn’t require employees crush grapes by foot, but rather used modern machinery.
At Z&M, we love a good party, which is why we host Twisted Crushing Parties. Once we’ve harvested all of our local ingredients, we invite you to round up the crew (no more than 4, please!) in late September and the month of October, and come smash some grapes! It’s the definition of good, clean fun. Contact us for pricing and to snag an exclusive time and date.
These days, everything is so sanitized and convenient. What are the ways our ancestors would have crushed grapes to make wine? Let’s take a look at old-school winemaking methods.
Historic Winemaking Methods
The stereotype of ancient winemaking methods is true, in some cases. Ancient winemakers used to crush grapes in large vats, with workers stomping on them with their bare feet! The juice would then drip into open containers, where they would sit for a few weeks before lids with small holes drilled in the top were placed over them.
As carbon dioxide escaped through the holes, the grapes would ferment. Most of us know that yeast is needed to ferment ingredients to make alcohol. Interestingly, the ancients didn’t feel the need to add yeast, since grape skins naturally contain this crucial substance.
There was another, less-savory place for our ancestors to get the yeast necessary to make their wine. Did you know that human skin creates yeast? Specifically between the toes?
Now, you can’t find any scholarship on this, but there are those who wonder…
The History of the Wine Press
It wasn’t all feet back in the day. Ancient wine presses were a thing.
The ancient Egyptians, for example, used to use sack cloth to smash their grapes, a process that the European Medeivals used in their own way, by loading the cloth with grapes attache to poles on each end, then walking in opposite directions to wring out the grape juice into containers.
Greek and Roman wine presses, on the other hand, were made out of wood and they would often create dark, bitter wines. Medeival France and Germany perfected the basket press, wherein grapes were placed in a cylinder, a disc was pushed down to press the grapes, and the juice was collected into containers.
Wine pressing technology continued to be fine tuned over the centuries, picking up steam (pun intended) in the 1800s when steam-powered wine presses made everything run more quickly and efficiently.
Present-Day Winemaking Methods
Today, we don’t rely on grape skins or toe fungus to ferment our wine (thankfully). Advances in science and technology have made it possible for us to enjoy the fruit of the vine without getting our feet dirty. Wine presses have come along way from their ancient Egyptian and Medeival ancestors.
The whole thing is becoming automated and run by computers some places, which allows operators to specify exactly how much pressure should be applied. Other places have worked out how to limit the grapes’ exposure to oxygen during the process.
First of all, in the mid-20th century, it became possible to add starter strains of Mediterranean yeast to ferment grapes.
Next, it was possible to ditch cork in favor of other methods of sealing bottles. Even though cork had been used in winemaking since the ancient Egyptians, it can sometimes be a problematic way to ferment red wine. Cork presents the problem of potential spills or leaks.
The middle of the last century introduced more widespread usage of screw-top (“twist off”) wine bottle caps, as well as synthetic corks. A 21st century process called micro-oxygenation can mimic the process of red wine aging in a cork-sealed bottle, by allowing oxygen to permeate the wine in small amounts, just as it would through the holes in traditional cork.
Crush Some Grapes with Us
We’re proud of our traditional roots in Italian winemaking, but as always, there’s a Twist.
If you’re curious about how a local winery in 21st century Kansas produces their wine, we invite you to join us! After our harvest, you’re invited to come out to our Lawrence vineyard to come crush some grapes for an unforgettable outing your friends or family will never forget.
Ready to book your private grape crushing party?