I am new to winemaking. So far I have made a single 5 gallon batch and
I really did very little. I ordered the grapejuice from a company in
utah which arrived in the style I prefer (cab), I fermented it in a
glass carboy for 3-4 months, and now it's in the bottle aging. But I
might be ready to move up to another level.

My grandfather had an apple press which I am about to inherit. We use
it every year to make apple juice, and recently hard cider. Some
winemaking friends of mine want to know if they can use it to make
wine. They have a destemmer and would only be using the press and not
the crushing portion of it. I know nothing about what a person needs to
do this so I am posting a picture here of a similar looking press and I
welcome any advice you can give me.

I've been wondering if I'll need bags for the wooden crush area to keep
things from squirting out the sides.

http://tinyurl.com/2s9vuq

Dave

from the picture it looks like a perfectly adequate usable device. a
vino-friend bought one similar last year & he's had no complaints. Don't
worry about the squirt factor; put down a cheap tarp & wear purple ;^) ...
i'm sure you'll find it more than satisfactory and given a few batches,
smaller than your expanding needs! HTH regards, bob


"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
. com...
>I am new to winemaking. So far I have made a single 5 gallon batch and I
>really did very little. I ordered the grapejuice from a company in utah
>which arrived in the style I prefer (cab), I fermented it in a glass carboy
>for 3-4 months, and now it's in the bottle aging. But I might be ready to
>move up to another level.
>
> My grandfather had an apple press which I am about to inherit. We use it
> every year to make apple juice, and recently hard cider. Some winemaking
> friends of mine want to know if they can use it to make wine. They have a
> destemmer and would only be using the press and not the crushing portion
> of it. I know nothing about what a person needs to do this so I am posting
> a picture here of a similar looking press and I welcome any advice you can
> give me.
>
> I've been wondering if I'll need bags for the wooden crush area to keep
> things from squirting out the sides.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/2s9vuq
>
> Dave
>