Winefat

Winefat (Greek hupolenion, "under the press") refers to the lower receptacle of the wine-press, set below the treading floor to receive the juice that flows from the crushed grapes. The word occurs only once in the New Testament at Mark 12:1, in Jesus's parable of the wicked tenants: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, and dug a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen." Matthew 21:33 provides a parallel with slightly different vocabulary. The detail of digging a winefat was a significant investment by the owner — indicating careful preparation and legitimate expectation of fruit — which heightens the injustice of the tenants who refused to render the owner his due. The parable uses the vineyard's complete equipment (hedge, tower, wine-press, winefat) to depict a well-established covenantal arrangement, making the tenants' rejection all the more inexcusable.