The Greek noun botrus (βότρυς) means a cluster of grapes, a bunch of grapes on the vine. It appears only once in the New Testament (Revelation 14:18), in the dramatic vision of the angel harvesting the earth's grapevine and throwing the clusters into the great winepress of God's wrath. The image draws on the rich Old Testament tradition of the vineyard as a symbol of Israel and of divine judgment as the treading of grapes.
The single appearance of botrus in Revelation 14:18-20 is one of the most vivid judgment scenes in Scripture. The angel is commanded: "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe." The resulting winepress of God's wrath produces a river of blood. This image draws on Isaiah 63:3 ("I have trodden the winepress alone") and Joel 3:13. Theologically, the harvest of botrus represents the finality of God's judgment — when the grapes of human wickedness are fully ripe, God's response will be complete and overwhelming. The mercy of God's patience (2 Peter 3:9) makes way for the justice of the harvest.