Poor man's "wine press"

[Rocky]

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.

 

[Flem]

Rocky, you're always thinking!

 

[ibglowin]

What the heck is a potato ricer!

 

[Rocky]

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

 

[Waldo]

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

 

[Rocky]

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.

 

[Bartman]

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

New Mexico must be a whole different country!

 

[Flem]

What the heck is a potato ricer!

It's essentially a manual potato masher.

 

[vcasey]

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."

 

[ibglowin]

I see said the blind man.....

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


Neat gadget!

 

[Rocky]

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.

 

[Rocky]

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.

 

[ibglowin]

Another great idea Rocky!

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

 

[Rocky]

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!