Grape Press

Pressing grapes with your own grape press is one of the most satisfying aspects of wine making. Possibly no other piece of equipment gives you a more complete sense of control, and of the wine’s destiny!

In olden times, grape pressing used to take place in a barrel that contained hundreds and thousands of grapes. People would use their bare feet to crush the grapes in order to ensure everyone of them was squashed.

Nowadays things are a lot simpler and there are several types of grape presses. A grape press design consists of moderate size barrel in which you place the grapes.

Methods of crushing the grapes include turning a handle, using a ratchet-driven press to “tighten” the pressure within the barrel, and even a bladder based grape press. The bladder based approach works by pouring water into the bladder, and the resulting inflated bladder pushes and crushes the grapes against the inside of the barrel.

Grape Press Prices

Expect to pay in the $250 to $450 range for a grape press depending on your requirements. The bladder style grape presses tend to be more expensive and requires less labor than the alternatives. Whichever style you choose, you’re sure to have fun pressing grapes. And there’s no need to wash your feet afterwards!