Using a Wine Press Part 1 - How to Press Grapes - Weston 05-0101

[@snurkergerm6168]

Great! That told me what I needed to know. Thanks

[@jimdent351]

I just bought a #30 Italian made press for $100 in like new condition. I'm so proud to be moving up from buying the pails of juice.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Wow that is a steal!

[@daved2403]

Great video! I have a similar press, but it is a hand turn press rather than ratchet. I'm always wondering at what point to stop pressing, as there isn't really a way to measure. What I've been doing is taking the free run and the very lightly pressed juice and using for wine. The hard pressed juice I just make grape juice (sparkling and flat), as the extra tannins aren't really noticeable with all the extra sugar in the straight juice. I should note that I'm doing muscadine wine which has a tendency to get bitter if I'm not careful, so I actually press the grapes prior to fermentation.

[@adamchase1129]

so does this step take place after fermentation is completed?

[@Paintspotsandpaper]

Hi, we’re in the U.K. and we have just bought a smaller but very similar looking version of your press. We’ve never made wine before especially from our own grapes 😬 we’re just assembling our press and are worried that the screws in the wood slats around the outside don’t tighten completely, is this a normal thing or do you think it’s faulty? Thankyou so much.

[@buttonman6262]

I was looking at getting one of these presses to make Damson wine. My damsons are currently in the freezer, de-seeded and chopped in half. Any advice?

[@anthonygarbarino3670]

Great video. I have the same press and it works great but I have to incline the back leg with a 3/4 board for proper flow into my bucket. How’s the puppy?!

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I do the same thing. I put a 1/2" block under the back and screw it to the work bench with drywall screws when I use it. The puppy is good! Full of energy and excitement in the labradoodle way

[@daved2403]

I do the same. Also, for small batches, I just turn the blocks in the press on their sides, or in extreme cases, I turn them up end to end. Haven't had any splits or breaks yet, but I am more careful to not overpress in those situations.

[@jimdent351]

In your video here you say that you like to press the wine before it goes completely dry, but on your website you say that you like it to be completely dry to avoid causing it to stall. Why the change of thought, and which method do you use now? I'm getting a little nervous now. My gravity ranges from 1.000 to 1.005 depending on the bucket I check. The must sat in a cold soak for 2 days and has been fermenting for 6 days. Should I be concerned with pressing them ASAP or can I let them go a few more days. Last year I was completely dry at this point and I pressed at 0.995. I'm a little nervous about leaving them on the skins too long. So far I've got no bad smell coming off the wine. In fact it smells wonderfully fruity. lol

[@guythornton174]

You're either a very fast worker or else that clock on the wall is broken.

[@RyanB.222]

When you received your press, was there like a machining oil on the threads and shaft? Just purchased a press from CFP. I scrubbed it really well with PBW and when I wiped it dry there was a black film that smelled metallic. I'm assuming some sort of oil used to keep it from rusting? Any advise?

[@sergiogarcia4347]

it is probably cosmolene look it up

[@jamescockerham2309]

Ricky, do you have a Mechanical Engineering background? That diagram & solution @5:40 just screams M.E. Statics 101.

[@Kneenibble]

Hello, is splashing and oxidation not a concern at this stage?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

This is about the last point that a little air is okay. The fermentation process is reductive, the yeasts are hungry for oxygen, the harsh tannins react with oxygen, and also the must is saturated with CO2 so it is pretty safe. Once it stops bubbling though then you are going to want to be conscious of oxidation and keep things topped up and keep an airlock on things

[@Kneenibble]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@Hellaherbsman]

So you use the press without a mesh bag and just rack off of the lees when needed? Is there any downsides to using a nylon mesh bag inside the press? Thanks for the great videos!

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

Yep, I think even with the mesh bag you would need to rack off the lees, since it is mostly very fine particles. The only downside of the bag is that you have to go through the hassle of it. With apples you definitely need a mesh bag but the grapes, there isn't a whole lot that gets through the wood slats. You can run it through a strainer also if you want. I will sometimes put a funnel over a carboy with a strainer in the funnel and press right into that.

[@Hellaherbsman]

Awesome, thanks!

[@daved2403]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel Great video! I put a mesh bag over the top of the bucket to prevent any seeds that might creep out into the pressed juice. Doesn't take much effort. Also prevents stuff from dropping in if things get out of hand when loading up the press.

[@dkerlee]

I just got the same wine press and was hoping that I could do primary fermentation with out the skins. I destemmed all the grapes by hand, with some help from some friends, but the grapes were still hole. I found that I wasn't able to press then right away. No matter how much I cranked on it, there were still whole grapes in the middle. Previously I've frozen the grapes, (then thawed them) that turned them to much painlessly, but I thought I might lose some flavor with that technique. Seems like other folks who made grape press videos made that video on the first go around, and didn't have helpful advice. Do you squeeze your grapes often? What steps do you do to start the fermentation pre - pressing? I've watched your milk crate video. Thanks!

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

What kind of grapes are they and how ripe? Sometimes if you have some under-ripe berries mixed in they just won't pop. You can try loading the press about half full so that you don't have as many grapes sheltered in the middle of the cake. If you are going to make a red wine you definitely want to ferment with the grapes/skins. White wine/rose you will want to press quickly after crushing. You can literally crush with your feet (which some European wineries still do) or 4x4 piece of wood if you need to. Usually whether fermenting on the skins or pressing before, you will want to crush the grapes. If you want a more fruit forward red wine you can leave some whole clusters (stems and all) or whole berries. Make sure the stem are brown if you are doing that. If you are fermenting on the skins, the biggest difference is that you will want to punch down the cap 2-3 times a day because it will float high above the surface and dry out/oxidize. You can ferment in food grade buckets or plastic barrels with a towel or loose lid over to keep the fruit flys out. When the grapes stop floating above the surface, the fermentation is almost over. I usually press when fully dry to maximize skin contact time. Towards the very end of fermentation I am mostly just churning up the gross lees once a day and will put something less air permeable over the fermenter like a lid. Press and get into a carboy or other container with airlock. Rack off the gross lees after 24 hrs.

[@anthonygarbarino3670]

I destemmed once by hand and used a potato masher to break the skins before pressing. Once! Then went and bought a crusher/destemmer!

[@brunomsm]

does the grape juice come out without the pulp i meam does that press have a filter inside?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

The press does not have a filter, so you will get a relatively cloudy juice that will settle out in about 24hrs. Most of the actual pulp stays in the press though. In a 6 gallon carboy, you usually get an inch or two of "gross lees" at the bottom that you will need to rack the wine off of. If you leave the wine on the gross lees, it can lead to some stinky wine in a variety of ways. A little fine sediment or lees on the bottom is not a problem though (1/4 inch or less).

[@Елена-г2б1ф]

thanks for the video! I live in the Crimea and want to order a press in your Walmart,how you get this liquid mass of grapes before you press it in the press? thank you! have a nice day!

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

you need to crush and destem the grapes then you will end up with a slurry like that. I use a milk crate. check out my video on how to crush and destem grapes and you will see what I mean

[@leslieking3974]

For my Chardonnay I lost about 10 gallons of juice by using a small press like yours for 500 lbs of grapes. It’s just not powerful to press the juice out. Not happy w it.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I normally break up the press cake and run my white grapes again. It is well worth the effort, since I get about 20% additional juice on the second run. Whole berry pressing is out of the question with a basket press. There are a lot of cheaper basket presses without a ratchet mechanism, which really reduces the force you are pressing with. The major benefit of a basket press is that it is gentle though. This is especially important for white wines where you don't want to extract all the seed and skin phenolics. We have a large #40 basket press also, and I wouldn't say it is any more efficient.

[@kingscairn]

i was goi g to get a press years ago - glad i didnt - seems like a headache & pretty slow process - hasnt even cleaned up yet

[@waitersluvhjy66]

I think you can learn more about this on Stodoys.

[@shantahsieh4833]

I've heard good feedback about the Woodglut plans.

[@callihanhopwood6255]

I really like the Woodprix plans.

[@synsynod8816]

🍇🕎🍷❤️

[@perap4232]

Cheers for the video content! Apologies for chiming in, I would appreciate your thoughts. Have you considered - Lammywalness Green Grapes Guide (probably on Google)? It is a great one of a kind guide for learning how to become a successful grape grower minus the headache. Ive heard some interesting things about it and my friend Sam got amazing results with it.

[@whofarted9376]

It’s good to see Freddy Krueger make better use of his free time.