On a recent Sunday, Sarah Chastain is standing at the corner of 17th and Clement in San Francisco when she kicks off her sandals, rolls up her jeans, climbs into a bucketful of grapes and starts stomping around.
Her husband, Chad, takes her hand and they do a modified swing dance for the amusement of people who happen by or are seated in plastic chairs watching the show.
"It feels awesome, really cool," says Chastain, as she slowly creates a must, separating juice from skin and stems and seeds. "I feel like it makes my feet soft."
Anyone interested in that form of massage can come to San Francisco Brewcraft on any Saturday or Sunday that James Davids is running one of his feets-on seminars in home winemaking. It is called "The Wine Crush at Brewcraft," and the concept is simple. The night before, enologist Davids picks up a truckload of grapes from a grower in Sonoma County. They are refrigerated overnight, and by noon the truck is idling on 17th Street. Davids gives a one-hour curbside primer to loosen up the student body for the sidewalk stomp.
"Before we had electricity, people were stomping by foot," Davids says by way of encouragement. "It's part of the benefit of making it at home. It's not an industrial process. It's a traditional one."
Atmosphere is created by a wine barrel with cheese and crackers on top. Finished product is poured from the stomp the year before. Veteran customer John Yelding-Sloan uncorks a 2009 Sangiovese bottled on his back porch in Hayes Valley and poured under his Juanitos label.
Power and water come through an overhead window. A newfangled motorized crusher/destemmer is set up for anyone who wants to do it the modern way.
You can use the crusher, you can use your feet, you can use your bare hands. Chastain uses her feet, with the nail polish on. They are hosed off before she steps in.
Aside from the therapeutic benefit, there is a practical one.
While making Pinot Noir, "the machine pulls the stems out, and stomping keeps the stems in for flavor," she says while marching in place. The Chastains own a construction firm, and their family label, called Chastain Cellars, is made at their home in San Rafael. Last spring, they took their street-stomped San Rafael Sauvignon to Baton Rouge, where it adequately slaked a wedding reception for 200.
Brewcraft offers six sessions a season, stomping six varietals from Sauvignon Blanc to Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are ordered in advance. The minimum is 100 pounds, for $150 to $300, good for two cases of finished wine.
"In small amounts that home winemakers need, James is the only guy you can get quality grapes from around here," says Yelding-Sloan, an archaeologist.
It takes half an hour to stomp a bin. Chad Chastain stands by with his jeans rolled up to the knee, awaiting his turn, which never comes. "I think she got it all," he says. When the job is done, Sarah steps out and has her feet hosed off again. By day's end, there is a stack of empty bins and another one of empty bottles.
It is a process not often seen in the city, and two women passing by are tempted to try it.
"There is an internship available this afternoon," Yelding-Sloan tells them.
They don't have time just now, but there will be other opportunities. {sbox}
Grape stomping: For information on "The Wine Crush at Brewcraft," call (415) 751-9338 or go to www.sfbrewcraft.com.
Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: swhiting@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @samwhitingsf
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