Press day

[wood1954]

Today I pressed 600 lbs of fermented grapes. They were picked 9 days ago. I used my homemade press and it worked great. Yield was about 38 gallons. Ph is 3.8 and TA is about 7.8 Tomorrow it will all go into oak barrels.

 

[ChuckD]

Tomorrow it will all go into oak barrels.

Do you let the gross lees settle out first? I pressed Friday evening and put it in glass. There is already 2-3” of gross lees in each carboy.

Barrels are on the wish list. For now it’s oak spirals.

 

[wood1954]

The filter bag I used really cleans it up. Next step is to filter it thru a paint filter bag and then a 10 micron cartridge filter. I’ll probably do that Tuesday. I pressed st 1.000 so it’s still generating some co2 along with the MLF, should be ok sealed up till then. I also bottled my other 10 gallon barrel today. The tannins are a little rough but should smooth out by next year. I hope your ferment went well.

 

[ChuckD]

The ferment looks (and tastes) good so far. Wine is typically pretty harsh at end of primary, but not so much this time. It’s all bubbling away in carboys now.

I press and use a kitchen strainer to catch the big chunks ( no bag in the press) so I end up with a lot of gross lees. I typically give it a week then rack to new carboys.

 

[wood1954]

i use a laundry bag that menards sells, the mesh is just right for pressing grapes. i sanitize it and use one or two for pressing and racking. so no gross lees.

 

[Rocky]

Today I pressed 600 lbs of fermented grapes. They were picked 9 days ago. I used my homemade press and it worked great. Yield was about 38 gallons. Ph is 3.8 and TA is about 7.8 Tomorrow it will all go into oak barrels.
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Wood, love the press design. What size jack is that?

I see your "cake" in the wheel barrel. Is that from one pressing or several pressings? It appears to be very moist. I recall with my grandfather we would end up with a cake that was very dry. We would press the grapes, move the cakes to a barrel, break up the cakes with our hands or a garden fork and repress the grapes. It was amazing how much more wine came out on the second and third pressings.

 

[Rocky]

@wood1954, Some questions on your press, if I may.

What wood did you use on the press? Appears to be oak. What is the material of the black pieces at the top and bottom between the threaded rods? Where did you get the basket?

 

[MiBor]

I used my homemade press and it worked great.

That's a clever solution for pressing grapes. The concept is solid, but I'm not sure if the black tub is made from food grade plastic or not. If it's not polyethylene (PET) or polypropylene (PP) I wouldn't use it for wine, as the acid in the juice can leach out phthalates and other nasty compounds from the tub.

I'm only saying this because my PCP told me a story about another pacient she had that got sick from fermenting pickles and wine in non-foodgrade plastic containers.

 

[wood1954]

Wood, love the press design. What size jack is that?

I see your "cake" in the wheel barrel. Is that from one pressing or several pressings? It appears to be very moist. I recall with my grandfather we would end up with a cake that was very dry. We would press the grapes, move the cakes to a barrel, break up the cakes with our hands or a garden fork and repress the grapes. It was amazing how much more wine came out on the second and third pressings.

The jack is a two ton , the cake is moist but dry enough , there’s not much juice left. I did break it up once and repressed it but didn’t get enough juice to make it worth while. Each press was from about 300 lbs of grapes. Amazing how little is left over after fermenting.

 

[wood1954]

@wood1954, Some questions on your press, if I may.

What wood did you use on the press? Appears to be oak. What is the material of the black pieces at the top and bottom between the threaded rods? Where did you get the basket?

The wood is all black locust except for the block under the C channel, I made the piston and the basket. I used C channel for strength and it didn’t bend or flex.

 

[wood1954]

That's a clever solution for pressing grapes. The concept is solid, but I'm not sure if the black tub is made from food grade plastic or not. If it's not polyethylene (PET) or polypropylene (PP) I wouldn't use it for wine, as the acid in the juice can leach out phthalates and other nasty compounds from the tub.

I'm only saying this because my PCP told me a story about another pacient she had that got sick from fermenting pickles and wine in non-foodgrade plastic containers.

I suppose I could line it with Saran Wrap or wax paper next time. Then again I not fermenting in it, the wine only sits in it for a few minutes. I think I will use a liner next year. Thanks for the heads up. ( I just looked it up it is PET)

 

[wood1954]

Today was barrel day , cleaned and rinsed the barrels. Filled the 15 gallon and one ten gallon completely. For the last ten gallon I had to add 1.5 gallons from last year. Filtered it all thru a 10 micron filter so the wine should be fairly clean. Everything in the winery is cleaned and ready for next year. Time to relax.

 

[ChuckD]

Winemaking. Short bursts of intense activity… and lots of waiting!