Remove stems in the must with an oak plank that has non-galvanized,
non-aluminum nails pounded through it at opposing angles. Or a rake as Tom S
suggests or by hand or do as I did and leave them in through the entire
process. I've not tasted all my 2003s extensively but the few I've tried,
I've not noticed a stemmy, green or overly-tannic structure.

My musts tend to be very chunky and looking at pulling out the stems seemed
an exercise in futility as it all looked like stems before fermentation
began and opened everything up.

I don't think you have to be super, super clean and worry that you used
commercial oak or a rake that you've not soaked/cleaned every crevice as the
contact with the must will be minimal.

"Bonaquisti" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> I would like to use my Grandfathers grape crusher for this years crush.
It is
> pretty old, and made of wood with steel rollers. It looks like it will
clean
> up nicely, and i like the nostalgia of using my Grandfathers crusher and
press.
> However, it does not have a destemmer, and since I am making Cabernet
this
> year, want to make sure I get most/all of the stems out.
>
> My questions: Does anyone have experience with a crusher only? Will it
work
> well enough? How can I get rid of the stems??
>
> Thanks for ANY help!
> Paul