Crushing Grapes by Foot

Ancient man made wine by crushing grapes by foot and today there still may be some isolated communities or home winemakers who utilize this technique. Today, however, there are no commercial producers who do this, except for one part of the world, the Douro Valley in northern Portugal where world-famous Port is created. Teams of people, directed by a captain, walk bare-footed, back and forth, in a large granite tank called a “lagare” to crush grapes. Some producers use mechanical equipment that simulates foot trodding, while others stick to the old method. It’s labour intensive work, but Port wine made by foot-trodding is often better than those whose fruit has been crushed by mechanical means.