richiev
Member
Just recently in our move to a new home, I gave away, my grandfathers wine press ,and crusher. It was given to me, about fifty years ago from my eldest uncle. I'm curious as to what size press some of you use, for your wine making?
PRESS SIZE
- Thread starter richiev
- Start date
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I have a 25 and a 30. I normally make 8 to 12 gallon batches and the 30 seems to work pretty well although sometimes I wish I had a 35. I really think it depends on the size of your batches.
I have a #30. It will hold every ounce of skins from 3 Lugs which is what each of my 20G Brutes hold.
Wine press sizes are an odd standard.
Basket presses are sized by diameter in centimeters. 35 seems the defacto standard among the home winemakers I know.
Bladder presses seem to be sized by volume in liters?
Optimum size depends on how much you ferment at one time. I have a 40 Liter bladder press (about the same diameter as a 35 basket press but taller), and it takes 2 press runs for the 300 or so pounds of grapes I do at one time. The 90 Liter could do it all at one run but if you had only 250 pounds of grapes, it would not be enough to fill it. If I fermented 500 pounds at a time, I'd want the larger press for sure.
Basket presses are sized by diameter in centimeters. 35 seems the defacto standard among the home winemakers I know.
Bladder presses seem to be sized by volume in liters?
Optimum size depends on how much you ferment at one time. I have a 40 Liter bladder press (about the same diameter as a 35 basket press but taller), and it takes 2 press runs for the 300 or so pounds of grapes I do at one time. The 90 Liter could do it all at one run but if you had only 250 pounds of grapes, it would not be enough to fill it. If I fermented 500 pounds at a time, I'd want the larger press for sure.
richiev
Member
Barrels went with press. I have reduced my fermenting barrel down to 15 gallons, and it pains me to say it’s made of plastic! I believe a 25 would work well for me. Any suggestions as who makes a good sturdy press?
IMO I don't think it matters as long as it is a ratcheting press.
richiev
Member
Got it! Thanks
I have 42 vines. They were just planted so no grapes for a while, but I think I found a local source to practice with in the meantime. What would be a good size bladder press to get? It seems 60L would be just about right but they jump from 40L to 80L. I hear it's not good to run a bladder press partially-empty. Any advice on what size to invest in, then? 40L and do 2 or so batches? 20L and do more smaller batches?
robert81650
Senior Member
I ordered a 20L bladder press today from Morewine.................
Unlike a basket press, with a bladder press, t's a bit better to do several runs in a smaller press unless you can always completely fill the larger one. On my 40L bladder press, with a partial fill, I put some of the already pressed pomace back into the press to make sure it's full. I, too, have read it's better to run a basket press full all of the time, though I did try once partially filling the bladder, then loading with grapes. That worked ok, but was less satisfactory than refilling with pomace.
How many vines do you have?
None! I buy local grapes and try to ferment 300 or so pounds of each varietal I do. That's roughly 2 press fills, and 15-20 gallons of finished wine at the end.
But if you figure at full maturity, a vine might give you 5 pounds of grapes, so 46 vines would be about 230 pounds of grapes in a good year.
