Treading grapes by foot is a centuries-old feature of producing some of the highest-quality Ports of Portugal’s Douro Valley – but this traditional practice is the latest casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic...
“This was something we identified very early on,” says Adrian Bridge, CEO of The Fladgate Partnership, owner of Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft. New mechanised equipment was due to be delivered to the company’s Vargellas winery in the second week of August, in time for the 2020 harvest.
Similarly, Symington Family Estates – owner of Dow’s, Graham’s, Warre’s and Cockburn – has suspended foot treading at its Quinta do Vesuvio property for the 2020 harvest – believed to be the first time this has happened since the Vesuvio winery opened in 1827; there was limited production even during the phylloxera crisis of the late 19th century...
Wow. I can certainly see that effective foot treading and social distancing are pretty much mutually exclusive. I wonder what they will do for Vesuvio? My guess is they will do the production in one of their other facilities with the mechanical devices.
Eric Menchen wrote:Wow. I can certainly see that effective foot treading and social distancing are pretty much mutually exclusive. I wonder what they will do for Vesuvio? My guess is they will do the production in one of their other facilities with the mechanical devices.
Eric
Read the article it answers your question. And may raise more...
I'd like to know how Adrian came up with the % in his statement re: foot treading producing 1-1.5% better quality by foot treading compared to machinery.
Roy Hersh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:04 pm
I'd like to know how Adrian came up with the % in his statement re: foot treading producing 1-1.5% better quality by foot treading compared to machinery.
Maybe it's the toe jam?
"I have often thought that the aim of Port is to give you a good and durable hangover, so that during the next day you should be reminded of the splendid occasion the night before." - Hungarian/British journalist & author George Mikes
Roy Hersh wrote:I'd like to know how Adrian came up with the % in his statement re: foot treading producing 1-1.5% better quality by foot treading compared to machinery.
Divide 2 from 12, add 4, subtract 3, multiply by 168, then carry the 1. That’s how.
Roy Hersh wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:04 pm
I'd like to know how Adrian came up with the % in his statement re: foot treading producing 1-1.5% better quality by foot treading compared to machinery.
I just read that as him thinking that foot treading results in a very slightly better product, not that he has measured it in any way to know that it's exactly 1.5% better.
I'd say the influencing factor could be the salt and acids from the sweat of the grape treaders... By the way, wouldn't it be possible to have the treaders wear MOPP/NBC suits with only the feet exposed so that treading can happen without risking to get contaminated?
... That's a joke, by the way, I'm not actually recommending that. I've spent a fair amount of time wearing these horrors and wouldn't like to repeat it; unless I'm offered a good bottle for each dozen minutes, that is. Damn you, written language, for not conveying intonations and facial expressions!
Pocas is a much smaller company. if the people in the lagare are living and working together in the same "bubble" anyway it doesn't matter. in a big company with much bigger volumes it's nearly impossible to have the same few people doing all the work.
During Covid, Quinta do Vesuvio did not have people to tread in either 2020 or in 2021. This was the first time since Vesuvio began foot treading that they had missed a single harvest of using their lagares. I know folks that did, in both years for sure. More did in 2020 than 2021. How they got away with it remains a mystery that I did not bother to look into.
