Foot stomping grapes

[memnosine]

Late to the issue, but I've been foot stomping myh own grapes for maybe twenty years. Results vary, possibly some wild yeats or other beasties on occasion; one never know. I do foot stomping because I lost access to a crusher, and then only had perhaps 20 pounds of grapes anyway. Buying grapes by the lug was easier; the wine shop always had a crushed-destemmer. I lost one btach due to some sort of contamination, didn't start fermenting for a week and I gave up with a bad smell. Kmeta for the bucket, the picked grapes, and the feet.
A local winery in Denver produces a wine, usually once per year, called "Little Feet Merlot". At the harvest Festival little kid have their feet "snaitized", stomp merrily in the grapes, and the result is fermented (with additional machine harvested Merlot?) to produce a commercial wine. Photo captured from their web site attached.
Better? I doubt it. GIGO of course. Here is toen the types of grapes I can grow, and the quantities, are limited, as are my waning powers. That said, the bdest wine -to my taste and my immediate associates- that I ever made was a slightly sparkling Niagara white.

 

[distancerunner]

“Barely nicked” grapes are challenging to press with a basket press. Stems make nice channels for the wine to move through. But the yield suffers. My experience shows a minimum ten per cent loss.

 

[winemaker81]

“Barely nicked” grapes are challenging to press with a basket press. Stems make nice channels for the wine to move through. But the yield suffers. My experience shows a minimum ten per cent loss.

I used rice hulls at the final pressing of the year. WOW! That makes a huge difference, and without excess tannin.

 

[distancerunner]

I used rice hulls at the final pressing of the year. WOW! That makes a huge difference, and without excess tannin.

Until this year we always pressed with rice hulls. We decided to skip it this year. Given our capacity problems we are okay with that.

Today we pressed the port. Five gallons of Cab Sauv juice on top of forty pounds of skins plus two gallons of brandy. Seven and three quarter gallons pressed. Should have used the hulls.