To produce wine in quantity, Israelite farmers had to take good care of their vines. The book of Isaiah describes how a typical Israelite vinedresser would dig up a hillside plot of land and remove any large stones before planting his “choice red vine.” He then might erect a stone wall, using the stones he had cleared from the soil. This wall would help protect his vineyard from being trampled by cattle as well as offer some protection from foxes, wild boars, and thieves. He might also hew out a winepress and build a small tower that could serve as a cool dwelling place during the harvest period when the vines needed extra protection. After all this preliminary work, he could expect a good harvest of grapes.​—Isaiah 5:1, 2.a

Isaiah likened “the house of Israel” to a vineyard that gradually produced “wild grapes,” or “putrid (rotten) berries.” (Isaiah 5:2, 7; footnote) Wild grapes are much smaller than cultivated grapes and have very little flesh, the seeds occupying practically the entire grape. Wild grapes are worthless for making wine and for eating​—an apt symbol of the apostate nation whose fruitage was lawbreaking rather than righteousness. This worthless fruitage was not the fault of the vine’s Cultivator. Jehovah had done everything he could to make the nation fruitful. “What is there yet to do for my vineyard that I have not already done in it?” he asked.​—Isaiah 5:4.