The culture of wine dates back as far as 7000 BC when it was consumed for religious rituals and medicinal purposes. Its production and consumption became more widespread in the 15th century during the European expansion. Eventually, wine made its way to the U.S. around 1562 by way of the French Huguenots who settled in Jacksonville, Florida. The settlers used native Muscadine grapes to produce Scuppernong wine.
History of the wine press
Much like the infamous grape stomping episode in “I Love Lucy,” treading grapes was the earliest form of extracting juice for winemaking. Winemakers would fill hollow logs with grapes, tread the fruit with their feet, then scoop the juice and crushed grape remnants into jars for fermentation.
Today, the process is less messy and less time consuming. Many wineries use wine presses like pressurized bladders to breakdown the fruit pulp and allow its juices to flow out. Here’s how it works:
Properly sizing a press comes down to three important questions:
Answering these questions will help determine the amount of time needed to set up/fill the wine presser, press the grapes and clean up. For more info on how compressed air and vacuum are used for winemaking, reach out to an Atlas Copco expert.