The process of making homemade wine includes several stages. One of them is mashing berries to extract a large volume of juice from the fruit. It is worth carrying out the procedure correctly. Any mistakes will lead to a deterioration in the aroma and taste characteristics of the finished drink. Therefore, beginners in the production of the product often wonder how best to press grapes into wine. This can be done using different methods.
Methods of pressing grapes
There are different ways to squeeze grapes:
- feet;
- manually;
- presses or crushers.
How to crush grapes at home
To mash the grapes and get a delicious wine as a result, you should follow certain rules.
We press with our feet
Grapes were crushed by feet even before the advent of mechanical devices. To do this, the fruits were placed in wooden vats, after which they were kneaded with feet. This process could take up to 10 hours a day.
It was believed that it was easiest to squeeze out the maximum amount of juice with the feet. This method helps to crush the berries, release beneficial substances from the peel and clean the pulp.
With your feet you can feel whole fruits and cold areas that negatively affect fermentation.
However, this method has now lost its popularity. The main disadvantage of the procedure is considered to be insufficient hygiene. The method is used by small manufacturers or hobbyists.
Presses and presses
To process a large amount of raw materials, it is worth choosing special devices. The mechanism of operation of the devices is based on the movement of shafts that rotate in different directions. They squeeze the fruits, which leads to the release of juice.
There are different options for crushers, each of which has certain features:
- With destemmer. This detail allows you to completely separate the fruit from the brush. Thanks to this, it is possible to avoid tanning components from the ridges getting into the drink. Desaleters differ in design.
- Without destemmer. Using such a press slows down the process of obtaining juice, since the raw materials require preparation. Before carrying out the procedure, it is worth separating the fruits from the stem.
- Roller destemmers. Such devices help to process grapes in the same way as is done in a production environment.In this case, the juice is squeezed out of the fruits, after which the wort is filtered using a destemming machine. The distance between the shafts is adjustable. It is determined by the grape variety. The standard option is considered to be a gap in the size of the bones.
- Impact centrifugal devices. They can be horizontal or vertical. The operating mechanism is based on the impact force of the motor. It makes 300-400 revolutions per minute. In addition, the crusher has a destemmer that cleans the juice from pulp.
Juicing devices should not be used for wine. Under thermal influence, the structure of the substance is disrupted. As a result, it will not be possible to prepare wine.
Hand tools
If there is little raw material, it is permissible to squeeze it out by hand. Hand tools are also permitted. If you plan to carry out the procedure with your hands, you should wash them well and wear gloves. It is recommended to mash the berries slowly. In this case, your hands should be near the bottom of the container.
It is advisable that the juice does not come into contact with the metal. The exception is stainless steel. Otherwise, there is a risk of deterioration in the taste of the drink and the occurrence of oxidation processes.
It is also permissible to use a wooden rolling pin to prepare the grapes. A pestle would also be a good option.
To speed up the processing process, use a drill or screwdriver with a mixer-shaped attachment. This method does not require any additional equipment. However, in such a situation it is not possible to break all the grapes. Small fragments of ridges penetrate into the pulp with the fruit.
How to make a grape press with your own hands
Presses make it much easier to make juice for wine. The device includes a frame, a barrel, and a pallet.It also includes a pressing device, a mesh with small holes and a power screw.
To make the device, it is worth taking 2 pipes that will act as racks. Their diameter should be 22 millimeters. Then attach the profile to them using welding. It should have a U-shape. Its height should be such that the nut fits well inside. There should be a clamp at the base of the pipes. With its help, the press is easily attached to the window sill.
To make the frame, you should use wooden blocks. Their cross section should be 4x10 centimeters. The length of the product should reach 60-70 centimeters. The size of the rollers affects the width of the fixture. A suitable parameter is 20 centimeters.
The interval between the bars must match the length of the rollers. For the press it is worth using corrugated rollers. Their depth should reach 3 centimeters. The rollers should be directed to the axes in a helical manner.
It is worth making shifts at intervals of 10 centimeters. They should be 2 centimeters. After which the device is secured with bearings to the frame. The rollers rotate at different rates. Therefore, the gears must differ in diameter.
It is recommended to load the berries into a ladle. It should have a pyramidal shape. It is recommended to place the bucket on the cross bars. The interval between the bucket and the roller is kept to a minimum. It should not be more than a centimeter.
At the base of the press there should be a vessel for collecting juice. For proper fruit compression, the gaps must be manageable. They help keep the seeds intact, resulting in a delicious, high-quality wine. Damaged seeds make the drink bitter. This is due to the large number of tanning elements.
The basket is made of stainless steel.Its thickness should be 2 millimeters. It is recommended to separate portions of raw materials with spacers. They are made from 2 steel discs and fixed by spot welding. Holes of 3 millimeters are made in them.
Common mistakes
When making juice, inexperienced winemakers make the following mistakes:
- use metal utensils;
- combs are added to the product;
- grind the bones;
- use a juicer.
There are quite a few ways to obtain grapes for making wine. Thanks to this, each person will be able to choose the appropriate option.
