High basements were used for wine-making: “Every Italian family made wine in the grape season, August, September, October. Everyone had a wine cellar.” Families bought grapes from railroad cars that came by car ferry from the north bay to the Embarcadero. A typical family used about one ton of grapes. (Dillon 1985: 132) According to Dobie, during the wine-making season, “the sidewalks are slippery with grapes and the air fruity with the smell of seething grape juice.” (Dobie 1939: 188) *Dillon, Richard. 1985. North Beach: The Italian Heart of San Francisco. Novato: Presidio Press. *Dobie, Charles Caldwell. 1939. San Francisco: A Pageant. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company