Crushing your grapes before you press them purposefully bursts the skin of each individual grape. That way the juice is released from the pulp and your resulting wine can reach its full potential. Once your grapes are crushed properly then they will be ready for your grape press.
Crushing can be done in various ways depending on the amount of grapes you are working with. When dealing with 10 pounds or less, you can effectively and timely crush all of the grapes by hand. When dealing with more than 10 pounds you will most likely want to look into utilizing some type of crushing equipment.
Lastly, depending on the type of grape you are using, red versus white, you will want to take different precautions. White wine does not utilize the skins of the grape and must be crushed by equipment that can effectively press all of the juice from the skins.
Items for Crushing:
- Grapes, red or white
- Colander
- Large stainless steel or aluminum container or,
- Grape crusher (manual or mechanic)
- Glass jars
Instructions for Crushing:
- Sanitize your metal container or grape crusher (same as you would your carboy)
- Sanitize your jars (same as bottles)
- Inspect grapes for mold
- Separate your grapes from the stalk and rinse off with cold water
- Fill your container for crushing grapes
- Crush grapes
- Place the crushed grapes and juices into your jars and place them in the refrigerator