Juice Separation

Two main procedures are used to separate the juice from the solid material. Much of the juice may be drained off by placing the crushed grapes in a container with a false bottom and in some separators false sides. This juice is called the free run juice, and the mass of crushed grapes is called the must, a term also used to refer to the unfermented grape juice, with or without skins.

More commonly, the crushed grapes are placed in a press. The traditional basket press is gradually being replaced by a horizontal basket press, which applies pressure from both ends. Continuous screw-type presses are also employed, especially for drained pulp. The Willmes press, widely employed for white musts, consists of a perforated cylinder containing an inflatable tube. The crushed grapes are introduced into the cylinder, and the tube is inflated, pressing the grapes against the rotating cylinder sides and forcing the juice out through the perforations. Several pressings may be made without the extensive hand labor required for basket presses.

Continuous presses are practical for production of red wines, in which skins, seeds, and juices are all fermented together. Separation of the juice is simplified because fermentation makes the skins less slippery, and the amount of free run juice obtained is much greater than for unfermented musts. Separation of the less slippery solids from the juice by pressing is also simplified.

The drained pomace (crushed mass remaining after extraction of the juice from the grapes), from white or red fermentation, may be used to provide distilling material for production of wine spirits. Water is usually added, the fermentation is completed, and the low-alcohol wine is drained off. The pomace may be further washed and pressed or may be distilled directly in special stills.