Winemakers Toys

Well, guess what turned up today… a brand spanking new wine press. It’s just like Christmas all over again. Toys for the winemaker, big, shiny new toys with lots of buttons to push and moving parts and instructions to read – batteries not included.

Out of the container rolled the Europress P80, all the way from Germany. The bloke from Germany will visit us in a couple of weeks to help put it all together. Until then we will just have to casually admire it as we walk past.

I am hoping for big things from this new press. We now have a dedicated red wine press (the old press) and a dedicated white grape press (the Europress). The Europress will allow us to press whole bunches of grapes which will deliver juice with less colour and tannins and finer textures. Alternatively, we can crush grapes into the press and store them there for a couple of hours before pressing to enhance fruit aromas and complexity while producing completely different textures to whole bunch pressing. It will increase the flexibility of winemaking practices we utilise and hopefully increase the quality and appeal of the wines we make. Additionally, it will increase our daily pressing capacity and efficiency. It is sounding like a win-win situation. And that is exactly why the press has been purchased. It’s a significant layout of capital but one we think will have a significant effect on our winemaking and wines. It is one of the things I love about working for a family-owned producer like Printhie – they can see the value it in and they are prepared to invest in the future.

Vintage just got a whole lot more exciting.

Check out our Facebook page for photos of the Europress arriving at the winery