East wall (right-hand wall) of the main chamber. The gathering of grapes is situated in the south end of the 4th register from the bottom; other parts of the theme were probably situated in the same register, but they are very fragmentary.

Wine was not a staple in Ancient Egypt, but it was apparently produced since the 1st dynasty at the latest. It was mainly available for upper classes, but common people might have consumed wine on special occasions. There are more than 20 wine-making scenes in Old Kingdom tombs and 9 examples date to the Middle Kingdom, but representations of viticulture and wine production were especially popular in the New Kingdom. Even if the depictions lack many details, the major stages of the process are illustrated. Vineyards apparently belonged to the same category as orchards and gardens, and all elements are usually closely associated in the scenes. In reality, the vineyards were probably very often surrounded by walls. The vine is a climbing plant and the images regularly show trellis or arbour, over which the vine is trained. Old and New Kingdom examples display tending/ watering of the plants. The harvest was done by hand (without any tools) and transported in baskets to the treading vat. There, the grapes were crushed by treading them underfoot. In Old and Middle Kingdom, shallow treading vats are represented and they are usually provided with a supporting frame – the treaders hold onto its crossbar for balance. The use of rhythmic beat or music during the treading process is only attested for the Old and New Kingdom. After treading, the grapes were apparently strained in a wine press in order to extract the remaining juice. It is still disputed whether the juice from the two processes was mixed or kept separately, since it would have an impact on the quality, colour and taste of the wine. The extracted juice was poured into large jars and left to ferment. This primary fermentation might have been quite fast due to the high temperatures in Egypt. Afterwards, the jars were covered with mud stoppers and sealed. It is also possible that before sealing, the fermented wine was decanted from large jars into smaller jars. There is some archaeological evidence for partial sealing or openings in the neck of the jars that might have allowed gases to come out; this would indicate that the jars were sealed before the fermentation was finished and a secondary (probably slower) fermentation took place. Old and Middle Kingdom wine-making scenes are quite comparable; important innovations and new motifs are illustrated not before the New Kingdom. Compare: Murray, M.A., Viticulture and wine production, in: Nicholson and Shaw (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, pp. 577 – 608; Lerstrup, A., The making of wine in Egypt, in: GM 129 (1992), pp. 61 – 82; Brewer, D.J., Domestic plants, pp. 54 – 60; James, T.G.H., The Earliest History of Wine and Its Importance in Ancient Egypt, in: McGovern, Fleming and Katz (eds.), The Origins and Ancient History of Wine, pp. 197 – 213.