Why I Got A New Wine Press. Equipment to Make Great Wine at Home!

[@nesertema4583]

I am also using this old-school press, similar size - mine probably 100 years old. I got it from my father in law who got it also from someone in his family. the whole base and legs are cast iron, I am sure it will outlive me. the basket is made of oak, quite a bit of woodworm holes in it 😃one clamping mechanism is broken, but nothing I could not sort out with a welder. the pressing is hard work, however combined with friends coming for help, having drinks and snacks makes it a nice event. greetings from slovakia!

[@gregwanee2689]

We have the same press. We do a first press, then back it off and let it sit. It relaxes the must and then you can press again and get a lot of the juice. Another thing we do is use a pop up when you have to press in the sun. Keeps the wine cooler and people from overheating.

[@rsmb99]

Fabricated my own 31cm x 37cm (26 litre) wine press in MS (frame) and stainless steel (basket) with the help of my local steel fabricator. Uses a bottle type car jack for easily pressing the piston. It cost me only a tenth of what similar presses are being sold for on Amazon!

[@JONATHANTABLER]

can you make another for me? :)

[@beescheeseandwineplease889]

Great video. I very much prefer basket pressed wines. I find them much less “bity” and tannic and more soft and fruity. My favorite is “Little James Grenache, Basket press” for example. 🍷

[@broccoli5408]

Just using my renovated press, it does the job.

[@AmySmith-pt7pb]

I bought a press like this and it was very unsafe to use. The metal bar in the middle got rusted and got into my juice. Also, the red paint, when turning to press the juice, the red paint fell into my juice. The pieces of wood that placed inside, the wood pieces got into my juice. I don’t recommend this product and suggest that it should be made of a different material that does not rusted as well as no paint, no wood.

[@markspc1]

Rick, what about you raffling the small (#25) press ?

[@motog4-75]

What are the dimensions of a size 30? I can't seem to find them anywhere. All I get is the basket dimensions only.

[@kentvandevender9731]

I have in-laws in Newton falls and Ravenna, so it was interestingly learn about the store. Thanks for your videos.

[@pilsplease7561]

I have the next size up from this press, can put over 500 pounds of grapes per press. Thing is so heavy its on wheels otherwise you couldnt move it. I had to cancel some grape harvests this year because I capped out the 200 gallons of wine limit for home winemakers and dont want to violate the law even though its not like they will check.

[@pilsplease7561]

Oh believe me they do care and you will get into trouble in regards to it. As an industry professional with years of commercial winemaking experience the little guys who think they can get away with it always get caught. @kroganlove3640

[@gspringer4]

Great to use should rolling blackouts ever occur. The center screw rod is made of what looks like low grade steel or high grade iron and will rust in time. Beeswax mixed with a little mineral oil will coat and protect the threads every two years to keep the rust at bay.

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

Nice new press! I upgraded to a 45 two or three years ago, otherwise about the same as yours. I got mine from Watson’s in Niagara. Kevin Watson tried to talk me into a bladder press but I wanted the ratchet style. For one thing I press in the basement and I can just imagine a water explosion! I just cut up 2x4’s to get extra depth, they store right inside the basket. How do you sanitize your press? Do you think we would have the power to do whole cluster pressing, when I make my Foch rose from grapes I crush it comes out rather dark, it tastes good but I think it throws the judges off a bit. I imagine whole cluster pressing would lighten the colour. Klaus

[@luketilley315]

hi. i have a simliar press i picked up second hand. base paint has flaked with a little rust. i am struggling to find a suitible coating or recommended epoxy for it. do you have any ideas?

[@piotrwojdelko1150]

Thank you very interesting topic.I think very interesting topic it would be how to make rose wine .I struggle to achieve in a cold climate. I was advised that it may be the best choice to make high quality of wines . I have been testing over 50 species and still don't have a real candidate for rose .There are many problems which enzymes to use ,pectolase .How to press it .I can't find proper wine press for rose instead of rose I have ruby color. I know that material for good rose is a big fruit and inside must be transparent .Nevertheless I see americans wines have more pectins than noble .When you use press it also depends on type of mesh plastic,linen, ..I don't understand how French could use red skin Pinot Meunier and have white Champane .I think the key might be a higher pressure in wine press.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

You may also consider cold friendly white wines like gruner veltliner, which can make very high quality wine. I use the saignée method to make all of my rosé wines. If you are having issues with too much extraction, it may be the timing of the enzyme addition. Any skin contact with some of the more modern enzymes will deepen the color very rapidly. I treat my rosés very much like my white wines but will occasionally allow a little more skin contact (up to about three hours or so). I use enzymes but only after cold settling since I am not trying to extract too much from the skins or chunky bits that settle out. I am really just using them to break up any remaining pectin in the juice so that I don't get a pectin haze later. I have found some of the hybrid reds aren't particularly well suited for rosé. As for the wineries that are pressing white juice off red grapes, I think they are generally whole berry pressing. They have more powerful presses that will press the juice out without the need to crush beforehand, so the juice contacts the skins for seconds to minutes and never really gets a chance to extract from them. Some red varieties seem to be a little slower at extracting also. I crushed a Noiret the other day and it was red right off the crusher, whereas a Cabernet Franc comes off very light.

[@SirGolfalot-]

When all is done I can press the equivalent of 6 lugs of grapes in a 4.75-gallon press without making an entire day of it. That's over a couple hundred pounds of grapes. I'd say 300 lbs of grapes is max to press for one day by oneself. IMO

[@michaelgillespie1206]

After you use your wine press, do you have to clean the staining some way, maybe hydrogen peroxide?

[@loekessers]

Would you say that there is a big difference in how much force you use in the final wine? Preciss control of force is often used as an argument for bladder presses.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I think it is hard to over extract with a basket press. It sort of forces the winery to be gentle with them and since they are a little less efficient, they would have a little less hard press wine. I don't see why you couldn't also take it easy on a bladder press, or really separate the hard press wine and decide if you want to blend it back later. That may be easier said than done though. If you have the option to squeeze 5% more from the skins, it would be hard not to just crank it up and watch it run.

[@michaelo6003]

I like what you made to make your press more mobile. Do you think I could do that with a #45 press? What size casters do you have on yours? Thanks!

[@kydeerhunter1950]

I made 2 gallons of blackberry wine and it is very dry the avb is 15.75 i would like it to be 11.5 or 12 what's a good way to achieve this

[@gnanol0437]

Dose wine age better with natural cork or syntethic? Greetings from Norway 😄

[@daleoverly4401]

I've found that a natural cork should be stored on its side and can potentially have less 'slippage' in the neck, compared to a synthetic cork that's able to be stored upright on a shelf- which is good if you want to show a bottle off, or if you're stocking for retail. *Look at the sugar cane corks! They are a natural cork that breathes more like the synthetic types out there.

[@ThePotThickens]

@@daleoverly4401 studies show that this is a myth. Corks do not dry out any faster if the bottle is stored upright. It makes sense because the headspace inside the bottle is always at 100% humidity.

[@johnjerald8779]

I need one 25 cm dia wine press how much price?

[@hsl3032]

I watched your videos and have a question. You mention that despite the space between the slats that no skins or other material passes through. IF there were, when and how would you strain the wine before bottling?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

You will want to rack off the gross lees within a day or so of pressing. If any seeds or skins get through, they won't get through the little cup on your racking cane. You can also put a strainer over the bucket you are pressing into if you want. I do that with the smaller press sometimes and for white wine but it clogs too fast for a larger press that flows more like a fire hose when you dump the must in.

[@ziberpc245]

I have a new Italian basket press like this one (35 lts though) but twisting the ratchet mechanism down the rod makes a loud squeaky sound. I used food-grade lubricant (petroleum gel) on the rod but twisting still makes that sound. What could it be and how to fix it?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I used some keg lube on mine which would be pretty similar to your petroleum gel. Might just need a little more. Maybe spin the ratchet all the way off the top and make sure to get some on the inside threads.

[@jimdent351]

How did you get all the staining out of your small press? My press went from looking like new to being stained like your No. 40 press.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I normally soak it quick in some B Brite in a bin of water. It contains sodium percarbonate which makes peroxide and baking soda when hydrated. It's basically unscented oxyclean and will turn anything wine stained blue for a minute then mostly eliminate the stain. I rinse after so it doesn't alter the pH of a wine that goes through it later. The peroxide is an oxidizer so you don't necessarily want to use it before pressing.

[@alexpolidoro4126]

Wonderful press ! Simple yet very efficient overall. Question: what kind of paint is used to coat the metal ? I must be food based paint that is sustainable ? Thank you 🙏

[@jacobcrab593]

If you press to much don't you run the risk of making a wine with to much tannin and making it bitter?

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

It’s really hard to over press with a basket press like that! The final part of the pressing still tastes good, I just go ahead and blend it all in with the free run wine.

[@DavidAbraham504]

Where can I find the small one?

[@jimdent351]

I looked already and Weston has discontinued it.

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I saw that also.... That is really unfortunate. The little Weston presses were really great for the price. Out of season, you could often get them for less than $200. There are lots of budget friendly, non ratchet options available that are probably okay to get you started until you out grow it. You can get a higher quality #25 from MoreWine or Label Peelers also. It will cost a bit more but should basically be a scaled down version of the big press shown in the video which is a little more rock solid. The castings seem to be a little higher quality.

[@DavidAbraham504]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel thank you for the info.

[@dpj731]

69 liters?!?!? Nice....

[@daleoverly4401]

I currently have a 25cm press that I've used for 2 years now, processing apples and various fruits. Recently, the steel plate that the screw is welded to has cracked, causing the screw to cant to one side while pressing. The crack makes it leak a little bit directly under the press, which is making me want to upgrade. Has anyone else experienced this issue, and is this something to expect when moving up to the larger presses also?

[@TheHomeWinemakingChannel]

I'm not sure which #25 you have but most of them are reinforced with ribs under the pan. At that small size there are a lot of less industrial options. The Weston has four ribs that are about two inches tall and the screw is mounted in a tube that is welded to the ribs and pan. It is pretty solid. The #40 is a similar setup but has more ribs and is much beefier in construction.

[@daleoverly4401]

@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel I bought an EJWOX model from Amazon about 4 years ago. It has 4 ribs underneath the pan, and I have it bolted to an old table. I guess running more firm and fibrous fruit like apples is rougher on the press than berries. I use it for almost every batch of wine, and process about 50 gallons of apple juice on it every year. It seems that the constant torque over time bent the base plate, and the welds, allowing juice to leak under it, and I'm waiting for a catastrophic failure any day now. Do you think the extra money for the Italian model is worth it?

[@paulkelley7445]

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