And according to Alevras, the foot is actually the perfect natural machine for crushing grapes. The obvious question remains: Why? If a machine can do the work for you and churn out consistently good results, what's the point of jumping around in a barrel of grapes? For these wines, it's about having as natural of a process as can be. Red Hook Winery shop foreman Colin Alevras explains this style is only for skin-on varietals, as you wouldn't use the process for wines that are just juice. Red Hook Winery, located along the western coast of the outer borough, uses the foot-stomping method on a handful of its wines, like aged reds from ' enigmatic cult hero' and ' risk-loving winemaker' Abe Schoener. Before the fall heard round the world Internet, Lucille Ball was traipsing on grapes in an episode of I Love Lucy-on one condition from the California winery that donated the grapes: The script had to explicitly say wine isn't actually made this way anymore.īut that's not entirely true: Some wineries are still practicing the art of grape stomping, and to find them, you'll have to head to Brooklyn. ' Grape Lady Falls!' has nearly 18 million views on YouTube, and 'what happened to the grape lady' is a shockingly prolific Google search.

'You think it's going to be gross, but then you realize it's awesome.'Ī post shared by Abby Reisner most Internet-age wine drinkers, grape stomping is synonymous with a now-viral video of one reporter's unfortunate mishap.

'It's like jumping in the ocean,' one explains. When asked, the employees don't hesitate to explain that the grape by-products from the event get turned into fertilizer and that, frankly, it's just for fun. Some turn it into a competition, while others are more about the experience than a sellable product, like Benmarl Winery's annual celebration in the Hudson Valley. Aside from small places that likely exist deep in Spain and Portugal, industrialized machines have largely taken over for regulation and efficiency, as well as less labor costs.ĭespite this modernization, it's become standard practice for wineries to have fall festivals that bring back grape stomping. As the grapes ferment in their juices, carbon dioxide forms during the process and causes solids to float to the top, which have to be pushed down again.

True winos are familiar with this age-old practice, known as pigeage, which means 'punching down' grape skins. But unlike driving a car, using one's feet to crush grapes has been around for thousands of years.

Right foot stomp left foot stomp