Grape Treading

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

Grape Treading

traditional wine making. 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. 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.

Is it safe to drink wines made from foot-stomped grapes?

Almost no human pathogens can survive in the high-alcohol wine environment, including Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria that can be found on feet. "This is one of the main reasons that wine is so culturally significant in Europe," says Sabrina Lueck, director of winemaking at the Institute for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College, where foot trodding is one of the winemaking methods practiced. "For hundreds of years it was one of the few safe sources of hydration."

Advantages of wine stomping

Some wineries still practice the grape stomping method of maceration in order to leverage the use of local yeasts from the fields where the grapes are grown. By crushing the grapes in the fields, the wine makers can introduce the local yeasts from the surrounding environment into the wine instead of using a mass-produced commercial yeast. These winemakers maintain this is a more natural and organic method that will influence the properties of the finished product.

Excerpt from: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/health-q-a-is-it-safe-to-drink-wines-made-from-foot-stomped-grapes

Also from Grape Treading, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape_treading