Pressing is the act of applying pressure to grapes in order to separate juice or wine from grapes and grape skins

Pressing is not always a necessary act in winemaking; if grapes are crushed there is a considerable amount of juice immediately liberated (called free-run juice) that can be used. Typically this free-run juice is of a higher quality than the press juice. We will use presses gently to increase the number of gallons where required.

Presses act by positioning the grape skins or whole grape clusters between a rigid surface and a moveable surface and slowly decrease the volume between the two surfaces. As the pressure increases on the grape more tannin is extracted into the juice.

With red wines, the must is pressed after the primary fermentation, which separates the skins and other solid matter from the liquid. With white wine, the liquid is separated from the must before fermentation .