Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of Chambourcin.
He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul. Anyway, when I got
to pressing time it was really bad weather here in Houston and I did not
want to press them on the patio as I usually do. The wife does not seem to
approve of pressing them inside because of the squirters that shoot several
feet out from the sides. Those of you who use a press know what I mean.

Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket with
plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and pressed them
indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the press and down the
inside of the plastic. No squirters!

It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.

Ray

Ray -

I like the plastic wrap answer, but I've solved it a different way.
Ever since a very bad experience with Niagara pulp-bodies shooting all
over a front step, I've used the large nylon mesh bags in my press. I
put two of them in, one on each side of the center post, and fill them
up. When it comes time to press, fold in the tops and press away.
Haven't had a squirter since (been about 4 years now).

It takes a little work to clean them up, but a little soak in water,
hose 'em off, then invert and hose again seems to work.


Ray Calvert wrote:
> Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of Chambourcin.
> He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul. Anyway, when I got
> to pressing time it was really bad weather here in Houston and I did not
> want to press them on the patio as I usually do. The wife does not seem to
> approve of pressing them inside because of the squirters that shoot several
> feet out from the sides. Those of you who use a press know what I mean.
>
> Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket with
> plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and pressed them
> indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the press and down the
> inside of the plastic. No squirters!
>
> It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
> outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.
>
> Ray

Cheesecloth also works quite well, and can be adapted for any size
press.

Bryan


On 25 Oct 2006 16:14:06 -0700, "Rob" >
wrote:

>Ray -
>
>I like the plastic wrap answer, but I've solved it a different way.
>Ever since a very bad experience with Niagara pulp-bodies shooting all
>over a front step, I've used the large nylon mesh bags in my press. I
>put two of them in, one on each side of the center post, and fill them
>up. When it comes time to press, fold in the tops and press away.
>Haven't had a squirter since (been about 4 years now).
>
> It takes a little work to clean them up, but a little soak in water,
>hose 'em off, then invert and hose again seems to work.
>
>
>Ray Calvert wrote:
>> Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of Chambourcin.
>> He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul. Anyway, when I got
>> to pressing time it was really bad weather here in Houston and I did not
>> want to press them on the patio as I usually do. The wife does not seem to
>> approve of pressing them inside because of the squirters that shoot several
>> feet out from the sides. Those of you who use a press know what I mean.
>>
>> Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket with
>> plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and pressed them
>> indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the press and down the
>> inside of the plastic. No squirters!
>>
>> It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
>> outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.
>>
>> Ray

Jake Speed wrote:
> Cheesecloth also works quite well, and can be adapted for any size
> press.

I went to a fabric store and bought 2 yards of "sports mesh". It's
normal use is lining sports clothing but works great in a press basket.
It is a nylon type fabric that is resistant to tears and stretches
nicely and I highly recommend it.

The large nylon paint straining bags found at Home Depot are also useful in
a small basket press.
Ray - I've been using the plastic wrap solution to squirters for a few
years. I have my wine in the basement for fermentation and those squirters
caused a nasty clean up mess. I still make a mess but it's not all over
the walls now.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Jake Speed wrote:
>> Cheesecloth also works quite well, and can be adapted for any size
>> press.
>
> I went to a fabric store and bought 2 yards of "sports mesh". It's
> normal use is lining sports clothing but works great in a press basket.
> It is a nylon type fabric that is resistant to tears and stretches
> nicely and I highly recommend it.
>

"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
om...
> Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of
Chambourcin.
> He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul. Anyway, when I
got
> to pressing time it was really bad weather here in Houston and I did not
> want to press them on the patio as I usually do. The wife does not seem
to
> approve of pressing them inside because of the squirters that shoot
several
> feet out from the sides. Those of you who use a press know what I mean.
>
> Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket
with
> plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and pressed
them
> indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the press and down
the
> inside of the plastic. No squirters!
>
> It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
> outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.
>
> Ray
>

Hi Ray,
I use a small Vaslin horizontal press, and these presses are notorious for
producing squirters. Here is my solution.
(1) Stand back.
(2) Wash the floor as soon as pressing is complete.
Works for me.
Lum
Del Mar, California, USA
www.geocities.com/lumeisenman

Two nice things I noted about the plastic wrap is that
1) You can see through it. (not important but I like to see it)
2) When finished, throw it way.

It's amazing how many people have a solution for this little problem (other
than Lum's solution of cleaning it up) and yet I have not seen many (any)
posts on it. Then again maybe I missed them. I am sure some of the others
out there have solutions to other little problems that the rest of us have
not thought of. Let's post them!

Ray

"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
om...
> Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of
> Chambourcin. He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul.
> Anyway, when I got to pressing time it was really bad weather here in
> Houston and I did not want to press them on the patio as I usually do.
> The wife does not seem to approve of pressing them inside because of the
> squirters that shoot several feet out from the sides. Those of you who
> use a press know what I mean.
>
> Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket
> with plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and
> pressed them indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the
> press and down the inside of the plastic. No squirters!
>
> It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
> outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.
>
> Ray
>

Are the straining bags food grade? If not you might leach out
something undesireable.

Bryan


On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 15:13:37 GMT, "William Frazier"
> wrote:

>The large nylon paint straining bags found at Home Depot are also useful in
>a small basket press.
>Ray - I've been using the plastic wrap solution to squirters for a few
>years. I have my wine in the basement for fermentation and those squirters
>caused a nasty clean up mess. I still make a mess but it's not all over
>the walls now.
>
>Bill Frazier
>Olathe, Kansas USA
>
> wrote in message
oups.com...
>>
>> Jake Speed wrote:
>>> Cheesecloth also works quite well, and can be adapted for any size
>>> press.
>>
>> I went to a fabric store and bought 2 yards of "sports mesh". It's
>> normal use is lining sports clothing but works great in a press basket.
>> It is a nylon type fabric that is resistant to tears and stretches
>> nicely and I highly recommend it.
>>
>

> Are the straining bags food grade? If not you might leach out
> something undesireable.
>
> Bryan

The ones I use are - I get them from the local homebrew store. Where
they are in the store, I expect they're actually for beermaking.

Rob

Nylon screen from the hardware store placed on the interior of the basket.
I'd love to say it's food grade but I know better. I could do Al screen but
that's only slightly better, although useable for many, many years...

"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
om...
> Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of
> Chambourcin. He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul.
> Anyway, when I got to pressing time it was really bad weather here in
> Houston and I did not want to press them on the patio as I usually do.
> The wife does not seem to approve of pressing them inside because of the
> squirters that shoot several feet out from the sides. Those of you who
> use a press know what I mean.
>
> Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket
> with plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and
> pressed them indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the
> press and down the inside of the plastic. No squirters!
>
> It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
> outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.
>
> Ray
>

I also have food grade straining bags, although the ones I have are
not large enough to line a press. My concern was about the ones that
Bill bought at Home Depot.

Bryan



On 27 Oct 2006 21:09:29 -0700, "Rob" >
wrote:

>> Are the straining bags food grade? If not you might leach out
>> something undesireable.
>>
>> Bryan
>
>The ones I use are - I get them from the local homebrew store. Where
>they are in the store, I expect they're actually for beermaking.
>
>Rob

That's why I use cheese cloth -- it's food grade. It also eliminates
the cleaning part -- just throw it away when done. :-)

If anyone knows of a source for food-grade mesh or screen, please post
it!

Bryan


On Sat, 28 Oct 2006 02:00:42 -0400, "patrick mcdonald"
> wrote:

>Nylon screen from the hardware store placed on the interior of the basket.
>I'd love to say it's food grade but I know better. I could do Al screen but
>that's only slightly better, although useable for many, many years...
>
>"Ray Calvert" > wrote in message
. com...
>> Paul Lehmann (who posts here) gave me a little over 100 lbs of
>> Chambourcin. He is eliminating them from his vineyard. Thanks Paul.
>> Anyway, when I got to pressing time it was really bad weather here in
>> Houston and I did not want to press them on the patio as I usually do.
>> The wife does not seem to approve of pressing them inside because of the
>> squirters that shoot several feet out from the sides. Those of you who
>> use a press know what I mean.
>>
>> Anyway I had an epiphany! I loosely wrapped the outside of the basket
>> with plastic wrap overlapping it about 1/2 way around the basket and
>> pressed them indoors. The juice ran out just fine. It ran out of the
>> press and down the inside of the plastic. No squirters!
>>
>> It worked fine for me. Some of you might like to try it. I would use it
>> outdoors as well just to jut down on mess, clean up, and juice loss.
>>
>> Ray
>>
>

Jake Speed "That's why I use cheese cloth -- it's food grade. It also
eliminates
> the cleaning part -- just throw it away when done. :-)If anyone knows of
> a source for food-grade mesh or screen, please post
> it!"

Bryan- Try www.mcnichols.com. Lots of choices there for stainless steel
screen. As far as nylon Home Depot straining bags go, they don't concern
me. The wine is in contact with the nylon for a moment. It's not sitting
there extracting for a prolonged period. They certainly work well.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

Bryan,
I have bought and used those nylon strainer bags at Home Depot, with no
problems. Like all nylon strainer bags, they do not last for long. After
three or four uses in a press, it's time for the trash can.
To get the most out of a white wine must, I crush and destem once, crush
again, then press. I have a 13 inch basket press. I put the crushed grapes
in three strainer bags, which I arrange around the bottom, evenly as
possible. Press, getting as much juice as possible, release, then remove the
strainer bags and jumble up the remains (in the strainer bag) inside, then
return to the press, and press again. A bit involved, I know. But it helps
to be able to go through, by hand, and get those last little grapes and
squeeze them by hand and then press them. I have not had any problem with
painter's strainer bags. Then again, I tend to drink my white wines sooner
than my reds. I use one painter's strainer bag per red wine to strain off
the seeds, etc. when racking to a carboy. No problem there, either.

Joanne

"Jake Speed" > wrote in message
...
>I also have food grade straining bags, although the ones I have are
> not large enough to line a press. My concern was about the ones that
> Bill bought at Home Depot.
>
> Bryan
>
>
>
> On 27 Oct 2006 21:09:29 -0700, "Rob" >
> wrote:
>
>>> Are the straining bags food grade? If not you might leach out
>>> something undesireable.
>>>
>>> Bryan
>>
>>The ones I use are - I get them from the local homebrew store. Where
>>they are in the store, I expect they're actually for beermaking.
>>
>>Rob

> As far as nylon Home Depot straining bags go, they don't concern
> me. The wine is in contact with the nylon for a moment. It's not sitting
> there extracting for a prolonged period. They certainly work well.

I'd tend to agree with Bill here, wrt the contact time with the nylon.
I'd actually expect a lot more in terms of extractables/plasticisers
from anyone using PVC in any way or urethane racking tubes, food grade
or not. No proof for that thought, just experience with plastics. The
saran-wrap solution is probably good, even if you used packaging wrap
instead of the standard leftovers-wrap at the grocery store.

Rob