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Screw press

Special grape press, see under Pressing.

Term (also pressing) for both the process of pressing grapes and the mechanical equipment required for this. Presses were already used in early antiquity, as evidenced by artefacts dating back several thousand years in many ancient wine-growing regions. Among others, the Roman writer Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) reports on this in his works. Pressing is a crucial step in the winemaking process. As a rule, only healthy and physiologically ripe grapes should be processed, which is achieved through selective harvesting.

Yes or no to destemming

Depending on the type of wine, a decision must be made as to whether destemming (destemming, destemming) should take place before pressing, i.e. whether the grape structure should be removed. During pressing, the grape must is separated from the grapes by mechanical pressure. Depending on the type of wine, it is separated from the solid components and then processed further, especially in white winemaking, where pressing is usually the first step. In red wine production, this is only carried out after the classic mash fermentation. If the ridges are also pressed, they release tannins or tannins and pigments (colouring agents), which may be desirable for grapes with a strong fruity flavour and is common in red wine production, for example using the carbonic maceration technique.

Gentle processing

The grapes should be processed as gently as possible by minimising mechanical influences in order to keep the undesirable lees content (tiny suspended particles from berry skins and pulp) and the tannin content in the must as low as possible. Eachpumping increases the lees content by up to 1%. For this reason, attempts are made to utilise natural gravity instead of pumping to move the grapes and must. By using pneumatic presses, there is no risk of too much tannin in the must. Depending on the variant, the grapes (with or without combs) are then crushed or ground, breaking up the berries and thus facilitating the release of juice.

Crushing

An ancient form of crushing is stomping the grapes with bare feet in a container. This is still common today, especially in southern countries, e.g. in the production of port wine. The result of destemming and crushing is known as the mash. In red wine production, mash fermentation now begins without pressing, while in white wine production, pressing is now used. To optimise the fermentation process, the must must be treated accordingly.

Pressing systems

The mechanical device required for pressing is called a press or wine press. In terms of the direction of movement, a distinction is made between...

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