Good to the Last Drop

The classic winemaking image is an old guy in a hat heaving all his might into twisting a wine press, getting every last drop of wine from the broken-down, fermented grape skins shoveled from his tank.

As we enter the final stretch of Lodi’s 2009 crush, instead of wooden-slatted basket presses, most wineries are using air-inflated, stainless steel bladder presses that purr like a fine sports car. And the latest fad is an all-steel, hydraulic version of the old basket press.

Each winemaker has a personal preference for how to press – or not to press – each variety of grape he or she works with.

One winemaker I know wants all the “guts” he can get out of Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon, requesting us to press as hard as possible. He wanted more tannins to make the wine age longer and give it a more interesting feel in the mouth.

Other winemakers want to use only what drains out of a tank as “free run,” not bothering to press.

Some will keep portions (“fractions”) of wine separate as the press pushes harder. They blend them back into the main batch if the wine needs them – or if the winery needs to bottle as much wine as possible!