Bible Dictionary
Winepress
A winepress was usually formed from two vats cut into rock: grapes were trodden in the higher vat, and the juice flowed into the lower vat. Ancient winepresses remain among the notable remains of early life in Palestine.
Definition
A winepress was an apparatus for extracting juice from grapes. It generally consisted of two vats or receptacles placed at different elevations: grapes were trodden in the upper vat, and the expressed juice flowed into the lower one. The two vats were commonly hewn out of solid rock.
Biblical Usage
Scripture refers to the upper and lower vats together in the description of an overflowing winepress. The winepress also appears in the parable of the vineyard, where a landowner planted a vineyard, set a hedge around it, and dug a winepress.
Historical Background
Winepresses of this construction were characteristic of ancient Palestine. Ancient examples hewn from rock could still be seen there, preserving evidence of early agricultural practice.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
From the scanty notices contained in the Bible we gather that, the wine-presses of the Jews consisted of two receptacles of vats placed at different elevations, in the upper one of which the grapes were trodden, while the lower one received the expressed juice. The two vats are mentioned together only in (Joel 3:13) “The press is full: the fats overflow”—the upper vat being full of fruit, the lower one overflowing with the must. [Wine] The two vats were usually hewn out of the solid rock. (Isaiah 5:2) margin; (Matthew 21:33) Ancient winepresses, so constructed, are still to he seen in Palestine.