Pressing white grapes after red

[jet]

My buddy is concerned with pressing white grapes after pressing red. He is afraid that the red stains on the oak press with leech out into the white juice. I told him they by fall the press will be fine.

So what do you guys think? Am I right, or is he going to fire bomb my house when we end up with pink chardonel this fall?

 

[grapeman]

Mix up a cleaning strength solution of k-meta and pour it carefully all over the wood cage. Let it sit on there 24 hours and hose off. The only reason to hose off is to get rid of any residue and not really necessary. It will remove the red stains and keep it from bleeding.

 

[jet]

I cleaned the press with a hose and meta solution immediately after pressing, but it still stained the press.

 

[JohnT]

I cleaned the press with a hose and meta solution immediately after pressing, but it still stained the press.

i do the same, and never had a problem (even though the wood is stained). If you are really loosing sleep over this, then I would suggest that you break down the press, sand and re-finish each stave (use a food grade polyurethane).

 

[grapeman]

For stubborn stains, hose the basket to wet it. Then take a package of k-meta and sprinkle it directly onto the staves. It should be bleached out by the next day then just hose it off again. I have never had this fail nor resorted to sanding them to remove the stains. Even if the wood is stained, I don't think it will affect the white wine!

 

[jet]

The thought never even occurred to me that it could be a problem. My buddy has the press now, pressing a batch of red, which should be the last pressing till the fall. When I get it back, I'll clean it again with water and meta, and call it good.

Thanks!