Few questions on crushing

1. I crushed/destemmed directly into my large 28 liter can. Seemed to work out ok but a little messy. Do you guys crush/destem directly into your fermentation vessel or do you go into another container and transfer?

2. Do you use that special stand that goes w the c/d to direct the grapes, and if so, what do you crush into?

3. I filled my 28 Gallon bucket with about 6 inches left at the top. Is that enough room for the cap? When I did this before I used 8 gallons buckets and it always seemed to bubble to the top. Will having a huge
Bucket this time mean I need a ton more head space?

4. It was a pain cleaning the c/d, very hard to pick out all the stems. Any tips ?

I crush into a 20G Rectangular Brute Tote

For the first few seasons I used a couple of saw horses under the C/D but got tired of losing a little of my must as it didn't always make it into the bucket. The must then gets transferred into 20G Brute Primaries for fermentation. I only put about 13-14 gallons of must into a 20G Brute so their is a good 24" of head space. I do not think you have a big enough primary if you only have 6" of head space. You need to transfer some out to another primary.

Last season I went ahead and purchased the stand that goes with my C/D. MUCH better setup with zero loss. I still crush right into the rectangular Brute tote and then dump into a 20G Brute Primary.

Is there a difference between the 20g fementer and 20g tote? Do you mean the garbage can?

Also, can I stir, punch down with a sulfiter broom handle? I need something long. A punch down ditch is $100

A 20G Fermenter to me is a Brute trashcan, round in shape. A tote is rectangular.

I would pickup one of the smaller hand punch down tools from Morewine Best $16 you will ever spend.

Ordered the punchdown tool from more wine. Local store has 32 gallon brute trash cans-- I figure a little extra room can't hurt right? Any disadvantage? I got 2 of them-- I have about 35 gallons of must so I will divide it between the 2z

Thanks!!

No, plenty of CO2 coming off so don't worry about extra headspace. Your back will thank you for splitting it up. Keep the lid on and snapped to keep the flys/bugs out. Its not air tight in any way (so CO2 can escape) but will keep unwanted critters out.

cool thanks for your help.

i took all your advice and its working well.

I assume the lids will allow enough o2 in and co2 out, I was thinking of using a cheese cloth…..any advantages/disadvantages to either?

No need if you use the lid. There are two snaps 180 degrees apart. Plenty of room for O2 to get in and CO2 to get out plus keep the bad guys away.

awesome, thanks. You were a big help today. I love the brute buckets.

I built a stand for my crusher/destemer. It is the perfect height to accommodate a 30 gal brute trashcan.

I'll try to post some pictures, but the destemmer sits perfectly into a box that has slanting stainless steel that funnels the crushed grapes into a 6 inch by 12 inch center opening.

We crush outside and "hump" the crushed grapes into the winery. The norm is to crush 3 full lugs of grapes (108 pounds) of grapes and have two men hump them inside.

Rocco said:

Ordered the punchdown tool from more wine.

Click to expand...

That thing is worth every penny!

Boatboy24 said:

That thing is worth every penny!

Click to expand...

Should arrive tommorrow. I kept coming across stainless ones for over 100$. I'm excited about this one.

JohnT said:

I built a stand for my crusher/destemer. It is the perfect height to accommodate a 30 gal brute trashcan.

I'll try to post some pictures, but the destemmer sits perfectly into a box that has slanting stainless steel that funnels the crushed grapes into a 6 inch by 12 inch center opening.

We crush outside and "hump" the crushed grapes into the winery. The norm is to crush 3 full lugs of grapes (108 pounds) of grapes and have two men hump them inside.

Click to expand...

I would love to see pics!

Ok.

So I'm getting the stand to go with my C/S as Ibglowin has. I will crush/destem into a brute tote and then scoop(?) the must into the 32 gallon Brute garbage cans. From there I ferment and then scoop into a mesh bag that I have placed in the press.

All sound right so far?

Next question---so then what do I press into….

Presses are low to the ground---do I press into a tote? And if so, once its pressed into the tote, do I need to siphon into a carboy for MLF? How to a lift a tote full of 20G of Juice and then siphon?

Can you describe your exact process and exact materials so I may replicate it?

Do you siphon or pump?

I crush into my 20G Brute Tote. I can safely lift 3 lugs (crushed) and dump from tote into 20G Brute trashcan. Scooping would take forever it seems. Do not waste any time with a mesh bag. Total waste of time it will just slow you down and plug up immediately. Just dump the must into the press and let it pour right back out into your catch bucket. Keep pouring until your press is full or you run out of must. This is the very first step in the clearing process. Start your press and go slow. Let the press do the work. Ratchet a bit and wait a bit. rinse, repeat. Try and keep the free run separate from the press run if you can. The press run is much more tannic. I use 20G Brutes but only put 3 lugs or about 12-13 gallons in them just so I can work with them easier. When its time to press I use a 1 gallon bucket to grab a gallon at a time and pour into the press. When it gets down to a more manageable level I then pick up the Brute and pour the rest into the press slowly.

Here is a snap of my setup that works well for me. I place the press up high on an outdoor patio table. I use an old 6 Gallon Bucket as my catch bucket for free run.

Thanks! So you press into 6 gallon buckets. I would end up w about 5 of them. Do you then siphon it into carboys?

Could I just pour it into my stainless steel tank or do I have to siphon?

You mention separating the free run and press run. How to you add it back together...any tips?

I press into the bucket, then siphon into carboys for settling and MLF. If you have a SS Tank you can just pour it little by little into it I suppose. I end up with about 6 gallons (sometimes more) of free run and about a gallon of press run for each 3 lugs. I use the press run to top off my barrels.

Mike, love the backyard. That brick porch looks like a great place to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Hey glowin,

I agree with you on the mesh bag....

I really hope you do not mind, but I have a couple of tips that you may want to consider...

1) Go to a restaurant supply store and get a large (1 foot diameter) strainer. place that over your bucket to strain the wine as it comes off your press. This helps prevent any seeds or skins from getting into your carboy.

2) When your bucket is full of pressed juice, why not use a large funnel to fill your carboy. This is what I do and it goes much, much quicker.

3) Why not syphon the free run juice before you go to the press? Go get a 4 foot length of 4" diameter PVC pipe. place an end cap on one end and drill a "ga-jillion" 3/8" holes all over the last 2 feet or so. Essentially, I am saying to make a large column sieve. Now, place that into your primary and syphon directly into your carboy. This will keep your free run juice separate and will also make lighter work of dumping your must into the press. Without all of that free run, it will go much, much, quicker.

All good tips so far.

When pressing, I set the press on an old nightstand (that nightstand normally serves to hold one of my barrels). A 6 gallon bucket fits nicely underneath. I rotate two back and forth. When I get a decent amount in one, I replace it with an empty and gently pour the wine into a carboy through a funnel.

I scoop the skins out of the Brute with a large strainer and put them into the press. When I have the majority of the skins out of the brute, I'll pour the juice through a strainer and into a bucket. That 'filtered' juice then goes into the carboy via funnel or vacuum racking. I don't currently separate my free run and press run. As volume increases, I probably will. I'm currently doing about 8-10 gallons total (4 36lb lugs or 8 18lb lugs).