"Then and Now": Grape Crushing and Port Wine.

Port wine is a fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Here is a little photo journal showing how the grapes for port wine were crushed a century ago and how they are crushed today. There is nothing like enjoying a glass of Port - especially on a cool winters evening.


THEN ...

A century and more ago, grape crushing was done by foot stomping. It was a joyous time not only celebrating the crushing of the grapes but the economical returns the harvest of that year would bring to the community. As the image depicts, music and song accompanied the long hours of work.













Wines were kept in large demijohns insulated by weaved wicker or grass. These containers were plugged with natural corks hand cut directly from the bark of cork oak trees.



















.... and NOW

Today the crush stompers of the past are replaced by metal robotic "feet", operated by turning on a power switch. It is certainly an easier and more controlled operation but has lost the romanticism of earlier generations. Nevertheless the end of the harvest season today is still celebrated with music and song in most wine regions of the world.













Natural cork stoppers, whether as straight wine corks or corks with plastic tops attached to them as shown in this image, remain the choice of most wineries. An estimated 14 billion straight natural wine corks are used annually today.