To press or not to press

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donshizzles

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Hi all.......I'm jumping in the wine making fray soon as SWMBO wants to have something she can drink as well as she is not a fan of beer.
Being a noob at wine making I have a question about needing to press after primary fermentation when using frozen must. It seems the most cost effective source of grapes, juice, etc for me here in IL is frozen must that I can purchase near me. But it seems to me that after the cap falls once primary fermentation is complete, can't you just rack off into a secondary......is it necessary to press the must/skins?
 
It depends on what you're starting with. With frozen grapes, you must press. I just do it in big mesh bags, as I never deal with more than a 5 gallon batch at a time. It's not nearly as effective as a press, but it works! I put the fruit into big mesh bags from the homebrew store, at the very beginning. I'll use three or four separate bags so they are "loose" in the bag. I ferment 3-5 days or until I'm at 1.020 or so, and lift out each bag individually and squeeze my little heart out. Pressing would be easier, but I don't really have the space or the $$$$ for a press right now. Some winemaking shops rent them, so if I had one close I'd do that.

If you start with juice, which is already pressed, you can just rack to secondary. Some of my favorite wine kits from Midwest were frozen juice for white wines. Since the wine is pressed for you, it's a piece of cake- you just ferment the juice.
 
Ok so my assumtion is that frozen must consists of grapes that have been crushed (not pressed) and the solids and juices are then flash frozen for freshness. Once thawed you now have a must consisting of juice and solids. Is it a must (no pun intended :cross:) that in that form you have to press it?
I wondering if I should just go with already pressed frozen juice.
 
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