The photo above is Navarro's modern take on the centuries old tradition of pigeage—treading on the grapes. Although pigeage has mostly disappeared except as a tourist attraction—or a Lucille Ball TV rerun—it stubbornly remains as the primary method of fermenting Pinot Noir in Burgundy. Open-top fermenters are filled with grapes—destemmed or whole clusters or both—then someone, historically a male, will strip to their underwear and hop in. Hot spots develop in the must when the fermentation in one area becomes more active than in the surrounding grapes; the task is to mix the hot with the cold to even out the fermentation, and the human body is a great heat sensor. Navarro's routine for fermenting Pinot Noir: bins are filled with cold grapes—destemmed or with up to 15% whole clusters—and after two to three days a few grams of yeast are added and pigeage begins twice a day until the must is pressed.

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