Second pressing skins

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reefman

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Can someone go into more detail on the second pressing of the skins?
How do you go about doing this and get more wine?

JSwordy mentions it in his Moonshiner Muscadine thread.
 
Usually you would do a bit lighter press the first time you load the skins in the basket.
Then transfer the skins into a temp container, re-build the basket, load the pressed skins back in and press again. Should yield more overall wine than pressing only once.
 
Doug, I am not sure if you are talking about "second wine" or something else. At home, when we made wine from grapes, my Grandfather would ferment the juice and take the "free run" from the fermenters for our "family wine." We would not press the grapes at all for the first wine. When the free run was finished running, he would add water and sugar to the barrel and re-ferment on the same skins. When this was in the latter stages of fermentation, we would press these skins. This produced our "second wine" and was of a somewhat lesser quality. I have never done this on my own and I have no idea of quantities. Pap never measured anything but we had 55 gallon fermenters and I would guess with skins and water they were refilled to about 2/3 to 3/4 full and about 25 pounds of sugar were added. Pap did not have an hydrometer and everything was either eyeballed or from experience. Today, with an hydrometer, I would chaptalize to about 1.095 SG if I were to try it.
 
I've pressed the skins fairly well, what ever amount of juice that I get, I use that amount divided in half as the amount of water I'll use for the second run.
Let me explain, I got 6 gallons of juice from the pressed grapes, I added that back to the original fermenter. In a separate fermenter, I take 3 gallons of water (acidulated at about 30 grams per gallon of tartaric acid) and bring the SG up to 1.090 with sugar, I take all of the skins and add them to the fermenter and punch down several times a day, the yeast that is still present on the skins will start fermenting again.
I've got 2 real nice batches of second run wine, both are stronger than a rose', real nice early drinkers.
 
This year I did a second run using pressed skins. Right after pressing I put the skins back into a primary fermenter with a Sagiovese California juice bucket. Didn't even have to add any new yeast and the resulting wine seems to be quite good!
 
I will do 2nd runs as much as possible - very similar to Pumpkinmans

I will use the 2nd run for topping off wine the following year and I can typically make it more sweeter for those who don't like drier wines.
 
Pumpkinman is right on the money.

The wine is great for social opening, but comes in very handy for topping carboys or barrels up. It can also become something to play with ie sweetning like vavuumpumpman was saying.
 
Just so I understand, do you ferment the first batch on the skins, and then take those skins and add them to another fermentor?
 
reefman said:
Just so I understand, do you ferment the first batch on the skins, and then take those skins and add them to another fermentor?

Exactly right
You have to add 1/2 of sugar water compared to the amount of juice you got

Thanks Steve
 

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