Portuguese term (lago in Spanish) for the shallow trough made of granite stone, concrete or stainless steel in which the mash fermentation for the production of port wine traditionally takes place. In some cases, these troughs are still used for punching down the grapes with sticks or by crushing them with bare feet in order to break up the berries for better extraction of the colourings and tannins. The stompers stand in a row with their arms hooked and march slowly back and forth in the trough for up to two hours. The human foot is strong enough to crush the grape berry, but not so hard and unyielding that the grape seed bursts open in the process. This is because the bitter tannins contained in the seeds are undesirable. On this complex of topics, see also winemaking and wine vessels.
Picture: © Axel Probst, World of Port
As honorary chairman of the Domäne Wachau, it is the easiest and quickest way for me to access the wein.plus encyclopaedia when I have questions. The certainty of receiving well-founded and up-to-date information here makes it an indispensable guide.
Hans-Georg Schwarz
Ehrenobmann der Domäne Wachau (Wachau)