I discovered this grape crusher on line two years ago and fabricated my own version. I can crush 5 gallons of grapes in 2-3 minutes using my drill. Check out the last image which is a video of Steve's unit.
I left off the de-stemming tray and just set the crusher right on a 6 gallon plastic bucket.
http://www.stevehughes.org/Site/The_Winery/Pages/Crusher_Destemmer.html I encourage all with a few simple woodworking skills to study the photos and make their own. Very inexpensive and superior to any manual (i.e. foot crushing) process.
Name: Phillip Deal
State: South Carolina
I grew up in a small steel town northwest of Pittsburgh. Most of the Italian families I knew made homemade wine and mine was no different. My Grandfather even grew his own grapes. No matter what the occasion was or which family's house we were in, there was always wine on the table.
My own making wine story began about 15 years ago. Having moved across the country to California, and although wine was plentiful here, I missed having that glass of homemade with dinner and friends. Quite often the airlines found me transporting gallons of wine back from family visits. This sufficed until my father became a little older, making less wine every year. Not wanting this family tradition to be forgotten, I decided to take my children, Matthew and Cara back to Pennsylvania and let them see how Grandpa made his wine.
My parents, Mario and Rose, showed the kids how to crush the grapes, press the mash, and transfer the wine to the barrels. Start to finish, even sampling the juice at each stage.
It wasn't all work, especially when Cara asked Grandma how they mashed the grapes in the "olden days". My mom was glad to oblige her with her own tub of grapes to stomp with her feet! It was fun to see my dad joking with the kids, have them open the mash barrel to take a deep breath just like when I was little.
We have been making wine ever since, and that familiar bottle of homemade wine is at all of our gatherings. My dad has since passed away; my kids are older now and have little time to spend helping me make wine. Their appreciation for what they were able to experience will come with maturity. My children got to experience an integral part of their family heritage that they’ll never forget. Maybe when they move away they too will take some of Dad’s homemade wine after a visit. And someday they too will bring their kids to see how Grandpa makes his wine.
Name: Anthony Ulizio
State: ca
I make red, and rarely white wines and Champagne in a simple way. Once, I noticed that if you use a little late ripened grapes you get a full body, quite sweeter wine, but lower in quantity because as the grapes ripen they loose moisture or water content. However, after storing this wines for a few years they tend to taste like something between sherry and brandy, and if you have oak mellowed them they taste like port+brandy+bread. But, the wines are very, very smooth and you can always taste grapes in them (sort of currant^ish). Once I added a little black peppers to my glass and it felt delicious and warm. It sounds funny, but it is very true.
Now the question is: I feel terrible to make people taste because they always call it in one shot "sweeter" or "light," while in fact, they are very heavy and could be consumed half to two third of a glass over two cubes of ice and give you a slight alcohol feeling if you drink empty stomach.
Name: Bobby Mistry
State: New Jersey
Four yearsvago, we made a kit of Bruenello. We just opened it over the holidays it was wonderful and full of earthy qualities.
Waiting finally paid off.
Name: Cathy Macdonald
State: Ohio
I was introduced to wine-making while we were RV'ing in Nova Scotia. We were fortunate enough to meet a gentleman by the name of Doug Copp. He and I learned that we had many things of life in common and had a fantastic visit. At the end of the evening we learned that he made his own wine, offered my wife and myself a couple glasses and they were terrific. Thereafter, he gifted us with a few different varieties of his home-made wine. So good that I endeavored to begin making wine myself. Upon arrival home I immediately ventured into this new task and I have been making several different wines ever since. At each party, at every dinner, and on a continual basis I take orders from friends and family and now for specialty blends. Fortunately or unfortunately for me I have not had the misfortune to have a "bad" batch of wine. Naturally some batches are better than others, but this is a lasting hobby that has developed.
Name: Bill Wynn
State: Fl
Make approx 500 bottles a year, make a blended wine with merlot grapes and alligante grapes.
Name: richard landry
State: massachusetts
About a year ago I was making my first batch of wine using the E.C. Kraus wine making kit. Following the steps in the instructions I RACKED my wine after 10 days. The wine had reached it's max alcohol content in just 10 days!!!! Thank you so much. I enjoyed the heck out of that batch!!
Name: David R Sinclair Sr
State: South Carolina
Christmas is also my birthday, so for the holidays and my birthday, in year 2000 I received a gift of some cash. I exchanged it for a wine start up kit, and a great hobby was born. My first wines were usually drinkable, but I had lots of questions and no one to share them with, so in 2003 I put up some posters around my town, Sun Prairie, WI. inviting interested parties to join a home wine making club. That first meeting there were 2 people and myself. Now out club, Prairie Home Vintners, has over 80 members. We meet monthly, have an annual club competition, have picnics in the summer and do a winery tour in the fall. I had no idea our club would grow to the size it is now. Meeting people with a similar passion has been the most rewarding.
Name: Rod Kazmerzak
State: Wisconsin
My wife and I started making wine kits about 10 years ago. Since then many others have wanted to try their hand at it, and things have kind of mushroomed! There are now 10 different "wineries" in production throughout the year in our basement. Of course the sampling and comparing and sharing among friends is the greatest part, but the wine is the thing that brings us all together. None of us can drink commercial wine anymore so there is always something new fermenting. You can get a feel for the action in the picture of our counter. I even had to make another wine rack to handle some of the aging process. Nothing better than good friends and good wine during a cold northern winter!
Name: Mike Fratzke
State: Minnesota
During my formative college years I ended up exploring many upstate New York roads. Many of those roads bypassed vineyards that magically seeped into my subconscious. Twenty years later I planted 150 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin vines. I have 5 other varities and I consider myself an experimental farmer. I thought I would sell the grapes until I realized I needed to be much bigger to make that a reality. So for the past 8 years I've had friends come over and we hand pick and stomp the grapes the old fashioned way. Every October for 3 weeks I get friends from all walks of life and watch them smile as they therapeutically crush the grapes with their feet. Thank you EC Kraus for providing me yeast, oak chips, storing tanks and many other necessities to makes my dreams a realty. You allow me and my friends to share a drink and smile every October.
Name: Steve Rincavage
State: Maryland
I"ve been making wine for 2 yrs now. I'm very Health wise , That's why I decided to make my own wine, as I like to know what's in it. After lot's of reading I started, with a Grape wine, that was perfect! Then I made another Grape Rose' again very good! Now I've planted more grape vines, and since have made 11 batches so far to date. I'm just loving every day of it. As well as my Family and Frends that love to sample.
Name: Carol Kufahl
State: Michigan
We fell in love with wine making when we spent time visiting the vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Valley when we lived in Oregon. This lead to home wine-making for family and friends for several years. After we moved to Texas we then decided to grow grapes on a few acres at our home. After about 5 years of hard work, we are now a bonded winery about ready to open to the public. We have about 5 acres planted and have built a small tasting room/winery, and will be open on the weekends!!
Name: Rick & Patty Wendt
State: Texas
My favorite wines to make are fruit wines. these include blueberry, blackberry, blackraspberry, strawberry, sour cherry, apple, dandelion, & mead. What makes mine setup unique is the fermenter. It is made from a old commercial stripped refridgerator, a 75 watt bulb and a thermostat. With the door closed it will keep the wine fermenting at a constant temperature. I have mine set so the fermentation is between 70 & 74 degrees. It uses very little electricity and I don't have to worry about room temperature.
Name: Chuck Lewis
State: Ohio
Distanced from the days of fruit crushing with our feet, our wine group processes 3000 lbs of grapes with our new destemming crusher. Supporting our crusher are large food grade fermentation tubs, variable volume stainless steel tanks and gravity fed bottle fillers. The whole operation is housed in a prefab garage which has been dedicated as our wine room.
www.sharkriverwines.com
Name: Anthony V. Palmiotto
State: New Jersey
I've been making wine for almost 10 years now, I was taught by my friends father Chuck who has been making wine forever. Each year we compare wines and argue which is the best and which year gave us the best wines and blends, Most years weather permitting I crush the grapes and do the first fermentation in my garage then its to the basement for about 12 weeks before bottling. Our claim to fame is we tell everyone we make wine the same way the Greeks and Romans did, crush the grapes ferment the juice then drink the wine !! I've taken it to the next level by labeling and waxing the tops The Labels are my daughters, who is a graphic artist, design. The label uses my home shadowed behind " Casa Mia" , My House, and has all the information about the wine,ie Year, type PH, Alcohol content. I can go on and on for hours... But I assure you my wine is the best you'll ever taste..
P.S. The second photo is a tool I made called the devils tongue It's an oak stick that I use to stir the must during the first fermentation. It gets it's obvious name from the shape and the color of the used end.
Tom
Name: Tom Fisichella
State: NJ
We have been making wine in Macedonia, Ohio since 1980. The grapes come from our yard. We have 21 vines which are over 30 years old, concord, niagra, and cayuga grapes.
Quality of juice varies from year to year depending on the weather. Northeast Ohio isn't the best area for producing quality grapes but we have had some excellent years, late 1990's and 2008 were good years.
It has been a family project going back 3 generations.
Enjoy your newsletter and the information it provides.
Name: Gordon Kimberly
State: Ohio
My winemaking operation is very simple. I buy the juice from a local winery. Since my extra bedroom stays about 60 degrees a few months out of the year (if i don't turn on the furnace), I'm able to ferment my wine, and also cure my sopressata sausage.
Name: Tony Parise
State: californnia
My best friend Crystal just came back from working in the Middle East for two years as a transporter for military bases. To celebrate her homecoming I made the Cranberry Chianti that I purchased from your website. I called it soul sisters Cranberry Chianti and gave her half of the wine that I made. It is the best smooth delicious wine. We have shared our wine with so many friends. Sharing is what it is all about! I commemorated the best wine for the best friend who is safely home.
Name: Mary Ann Mastnick
State: Ohio
My process is purely simple and all done by hand, I pick my grapes from my backyard vines, wash in a colander and de-stem at the same time then transfer grapes to a stainless steel bowl, mash the grapes with a potato masher then strain through cheese cloth(which cause hand cramps from wringing the juice through) from there to the poly fermenter, then I add the rest of the ingredients to make a fine wine that has all my friends in awe and in line for the next 6 gallons to be bottled..
Name: Bob Schultz
State: Michigan
I started making wine from age 10 years unfortunately faced many problems such as oxidation also in my country they leave the pulp up to 50 days in the containers (cause strengthen taste).... but now because of your valuable information of your website I enhanced the ways.......
First I collect ripen fruits of both red and white grapes clean them and destemming the mix the ratio that I want of black grapes(30%)+70% white grapes to reach the desired color... I can measure by refractometer the brix 22-24 the crushing the fruits then cover the container with white cloth to about 7 days in meanwhile I break the cap twice a day until brix reach 8 after that lift up the must and make 1st racking ... then close the barrel and make water trap to about 40 days and then 2nd racking .....sweeten the wine plus sodium metabisulfite.....bottling.
By the way I deepen in my fermentation on the wild bacteria.. because in my country i don't know how to obtain it (also i put small label on my bottle like santa claus .......
Name: Yacoub Emeel Hijazeen
State: Kingdom of Jordan/Middle East
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