Sometimes called the vintage-shout or the “shout of the wine,” several Bible passages reference the cultural practice of vocalizing while mashing freshly harvested grapes beneath one’s feet. While it is easy to imagine someone singing while doing their work, the Bible always uses some version of the word for shouting.
In some contexts, the vintage-shout is harsh, even violent. Jeremiah 25:30 reads, ‘The Lord will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.” (NIV) Here, the shout is that of an angry, vengeful god. While such a cry seems out of place, there are plenty of comparisons of wine presses and blood baths in the Bible, one being Lamentations 1:15. “The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah.” This bloody imagery is reinforced by Isaiah 63:2 which asks a God who is covered in the blood of the people of Edom “Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?” To top it all off, one of the Aramaic words used to describe the wine-treader’s shout is usually used in military contexts. In these examples, the shout of the wine is a shout of violence, crushing the blood from grapes, conquering the caprices of nature, controlling the life of the land.
On the other hand, the vintage-shout could be joyful. We find mention of the shout in Isaiah 16:10, “Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting.” (NIV). The joy of the grape harvest is inferred by the sadness that reigns when the vintage-shout ceases. Jeremiah 48:33 echoes this idea identically. The prophets used the common joy of wine as a threat against Israelites who might stray from their covenant with God. To be able to tread grapes and shout was a blessing from YHWH. If cause for the shouting ceased, the Israelites must have forsaken their God.
Biblical scholars have interpreted this unique shout from the wine press in a variety of ways. The god of the ancient Israelites, YHWH, had evolved out of a storm-god. The shout, perhaps, mimics thunder and lightning in a sort of rain-dance of thanks for the harvested crop. Alternatively, it may have been a victorious holler of the conqueror having trampled his enemy under foot. Wine was the victor’s loot. Lastly, these shouts may have just been joyous exultations at the end of a laborious agricultural process.
Without a doubt, some part of the vintage-shout was joyous. Song and dance occurred in tandem with the harvest of grapes and pressing of wine. Lyres and harps, timbrels and flutes are all mentioned as harvest-time entertainments. Taken together–a vineyard echoing with songs and shouts and full of dancing figures–the vintage-shout must have been a cathartic moment for those bearing their feet to the grapes. Treading grapes with feet is nearly an extinct practice in modern day viniculture, but shouting while treading is definitely a ritual of the past.
