# Poor man's "wine press"



## Rocky (Apr 2, 2011)

Today I had to rack some wine containing grape skins the wine press I have is for much larger batches. I only had the amount of grapes that come with a Cellar Craft Zinfandel kit. I came up with a method that worked very well for me and some of you may want to try it for your kit batches.


I went to our kitchen and got our salad spinner and potato ricer. I spun the skins in the spinner and got a lot of juice out of them. I then finished the skins off, pressing them in the potato ricer. Worked great and clean up was a breeze.


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## Flem (Apr 2, 2011)

Rocky, you're always thinking!


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## ibglowin (Apr 3, 2011)

What the heck is a potato ricer!


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## Rocky (Apr 3, 2011)

Mike, Ours is stainless steel and consists of a small basket with numerous holes and a hinged plate with an arm that you squeeze down on against whatever is in the basket. 


Here is a picture: http://www.chefscornerstore.com/35-269818.html


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## Waldo (Apr 3, 2011)

Cool !!! So what did the ricer do to the skins?


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## Rocky (Apr 3, 2011)

Hi Waldo, 

After spinning the skins, they still had some juice in them. The ricer pressed most of that out. The skins were not "paper dry" like out of a big press, but I think I got more juice out of them than I did twisting them in the bag.


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## Bartman (Apr 3, 2011)

Mike, 
You *don't* have potato rice at least once a week??!!




New Mexico must be a whole different country!


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## Flem (Apr 3, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> What the heck is a potato ricer!





It's essentially a manual potato masher.


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## vcasey (Apr 3, 2011)

Rocky said:


> Today I had to rack some wine containing grape skins the wine press I have is for much larger batches. I only had the amount of grapes that come with a Cellar Craft Zinfandel kit. I came up with a method that worked very well for me and some of you may want to try it for your kit batches.
> 
> 
> I went to our kitchen and got our salad spinner and potato ricer. I spun the skins in the spinner and got a lot of juice out of them. I then finished the skins off, pressing them in the potato ricer. Worked great and clean up was a breeze.



Great idea and permanently "borrowed."


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## ibglowin (Apr 3, 2011)

I see said the blind man.....

When we make home made mashed potatoes we use the KitchenAid mixer.


Neat gadget!


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## Rocky (Apr 3, 2011)

Mike, 


They are handy and they come in a number of sizes. There are commercial versions that could probably handle all the skins from a normal kit in twoloads. I have a sink in the wine area so I just took the ricer to the sink and scooped out the pressed skins into a plastic bag (for the composter) and rinsed out the piece. Done in no time.


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## Rocky (Apr 6, 2011)

Hi again, Gals and Guys, 
I was about to start bottling my cherry wine and I discovered another use for the salad spinner. I use it for my cork humidor. I put K-meta in to the bowl, the corks in the basket and it has a lid. Works great.


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## ibglowin (Apr 6, 2011)

Another great idea Rocky! 

Pour the KMeta over the corks cover then spin it off just before bottling!


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## Rocky (Apr 6, 2011)

That would work. Also, we could put the K-meta in a spray bottle, spray the corks, shake them spray them again and then spin. 


My wife is still wondering what happened to her salad spinner!


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