Year: 1875

A correspondent tells how they make
wine in Spain as follows We found
ourselves beside row of large, stout
wooden troughs, some ten feet square
and couple of feet deep, raised about
three feet from the ground. The bot
toms of these receptacles were already
strewn with grapes lightly sprinkled
over with gypsum. Rising perpendicu-
larly in the center of each Of the four
troughs to height of about seven feet
is tolerably powerful screw, which is
only brought into requisition after the
grapes have been thoroughly trodden.
A couple of swarthy, bare-legged pesa-
dores leap into each trough and com
menced spreading out the punches of
grapes with wooden shovels; and soon
the whole eight of them, in their short
drawers, blue striped shirts, little caps,
red sashes, and club-nailed shoes, are
dancing more or less lively measure,
ankle deep in newly crushed grapes.
They dance in couples, one on each side
of the screw, performing certain rapid
pendulum like movements which are
supposed to have the virtue of express
sing the juice more satisfactorily from
the grapes than can be accomplished by
mere mechanical means.


Their dancing ended, the trodden
grapes are heaped up on one side and
well patted about with the shovel, like
so much newly mixed mortar. This
causes the expressed juice to flow out in
dingy brown turgid stream through
the spout fixed in front of the trough
into metal strainer, and thence into the
vat placed beneath to receive it. Fresh
grapes are now spread over the bottom
of the trough, and after being duly
danced upon are shoveled on one side,
and this kind of thing goes on until suf-
ticient trodden murk has been accumu-
lated to make what is called the pile.
The pesadores now retire in favor of the
tradores or pressers, who, springing
into the troughs collect all the trodden
grapes together and skillfully build
them, by the aid of wooden shovels and
that reader implement, the hand, in a
compact mass around the screw, just as
an expert plasterer would build up Cir
cular column of Compo. The form
taken by this in the first instance, owing
to the weight of the mmk, is necessari-
ly conical. Consequently thu base has
to be neatly trimmed and the detached
fragments built around the upper part
of the column until this attains height
of some five feet. When perfected it Is
bound around with long band of es-
parto about four inches wide, from base
to summit, and flat wooden slab being
placed on the top, with the nut of the
screw Immediately above it. The han
dies of the screw are rapidly turned,
causing the juice to exude between the
interstices of the esparto. For the first
few minutes the labor is light enough.
Presently, however, it becomes severe,
and, although the pressers strain with all
their might, they can only succeed in
turning the nut by series of successive
jerks which necessltate the binding oi
their hands tothe handlein case, when ex.
erting their utmost strength, they should
lose their hold of it, together with theil
footing on the slippery floor of the
trough. This treading and pressing Of
grapes goes on nightly for fourteen
hours, with occasional intervals for re.
freshment, until the end of the vintage,
lasting altogether for sixteen days.