What's your wine fantasy

A dreamy wine and some foot stuff ;)

October 25, 2023

Call it a foot fetish, but some of us might dream about slowly slipping out of our socks and gently squishing our bare naked toes into freshly harvested, cool grapes. Personally, we dream of crushable Pinot Noir. Luckily, both foot crushing and a bottle of Pinot are featured in this week’s issue!

A Stomping Good Time

Stomping grapes; to some it’s gross and to others it’s a cultural past time. With reds currently being harvested, it’s time to swap out the work boots for rubber stomping boots. While today the act of grape stomping is not as widely practiced as it once was, it’s still an honored old world tradition in many cellars.

The primary reason for the act of stomping on grapes is to have more control over the crushing process. The thought is that the human foot, with its tissue and fat, is a “softer” surface to crush the grapes and extract their juices with. With this technique, the grapes avoid unnecessary bruising. Wether the crush is done by foot or by machine, it is always vital to avoid seed breakage. Seed breakage can increase the tannins and result in a harsh, bitter flavor in the wine. The force of a machine can cause seed breakage more easily than the grace of your feet. Also, with more juice to skin contact, the color extraction can be greater.

While machines have begun to take over and produce the majority of volume in wine, in places like Portugal and Spain foot stomping is still a sacred tradition. You can still visit quintas (wine country estates) in the Douro Valley of Portugal who employ a 100% human process to produce their wines, including foot stomping in granite tanks to control temperatures.

Uncorked

Dreamcôte Pinot Noir

2021 Dreamcôte Pinot Noir

Dreamcôte is a female led winemaking operation out of Los Olivos producing experimental wines, cider, and bubbles! Most of the wines are made in a low intervention style and contain a lower alcohol content. This particular Pinot Noir is sourced from La Encantada vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, which was originally planted by the legendary Richard Stanford. It is a bright and crunchy carbonic wine.

Nose: red cherry, rose petal

Palette: black cherry, baking spice, strawberry

Pairs well with: duck and roasted veggies

Available at: Meritage Wine Market in Santa Barbara, Good Land Wine Shop in Goleta, Dreamcôte Wine Co. tasting room in Los Olivos

What’s happening?

Cheers!

Issue #20