Hydro presses

Winegrowers Supplies - Hydro (water-pressure) presses

These 'vertical' presses will produce a clearer grape juice (or red wine) than large horizontal presses. They are also excellent for milled apples and other fruit.

When deciding on the size of press, remember it needs to be at least a quarter full in order to function efficiently.
A vertical press will work well when as little as a quarter full, if you have less grapes than this I would still de-stalk the bunches but put the stalks into the press on top of the grape mash, then the juice flowing out will not come in contact with the stalks.

With grapes: after the first pressing has finished it is necessary to empty out the pressed mash, crumble it and then press again; the extra volume of juice obtained from the second pressing is about 15% of that from the first pressing. A third pressing can be carried out but that gives only about an additional 2.5% juice, so it is often not worth the time involved, especially when using the smaller presses.

With milled apples: it is only necessary to press once.

With red grape 'marc': only a single pressing is carried out. There has been a trend in recent years by progressive winemakers to press the fermented mash ('marc') of red grapes in vertical 'basket' presses. This gives a gentle treatment as there is relatively little movement of the marc during the pressing operation; movement causes cellular breakdown and an increase in the amount of sludge/deposit in the press wine. The draining performed by the bed of grape marc also aids the clarity of the wine.

Prices shown in this section are inclusive of Vat.

Hydro (water-pressure) presses: with a vertical neoprene-rubber-bladder inside a perforated stainless steel casing. Pressure is exerted gently and evenly by the rubber bladder which is inflated by tap water (maximum 3 bar pressure, at which a safety valve operates).
It is easier to use and much easier to clean and sterilise than a traditional basket press. The pressing time is about 30 minutes, for grapes or apples.

The speed advantage of the hydro-press is due to the relatively thin layer of mash between bladder and cage wall, much less than with a traditional basket press. Consequently the juice has much less distance to percolate through. This time saving is particularly worthwhile as there is less oxidation of the juice.

Note: before filling, the press-sack is placed around the inside of the stainless steel cylinder, the bottom of the sack should be tucked inwards so that it lays underneath the mash. After filling, the top of the sack is folded over the mash before the lid is put on, so that the sack encloses the mash.
As the water flows in, and the pressure exceeds 1 bar, the air-vent tip at the very top of the press must be pressed down until all air is vented and water starts to splutter out.

Gomark hydro-presses:-

Great value and quality, with an excellent green press sack and a pvc cover.
Customers are reporting that these models press more efficiently than the Speidel models and the press sack gives a much clearer juice, which is especially important when producing apple juice.
As shown in the photos, there are female hose-tails fitted, for 13 mm (½") hose on the inlet and 19 mm (¾") hose on the outlet. Ordinary ½" water hose and galvanised hose-clips an be used for connection of the inlet, but a larger tube (19mm diameter) should be used to drain the water back to the reservoir.

VS-A series: non-tilting cage, all stainless steel, maximum pressure 3 bar.

55 litres (60 cmW x 60 cmL x 96 cmH, 35 kilos), £799

80 litres (60 cmW x 60 cmL x 118 cmH, 40 kilos), £925

120 litres (68 cmW x 68 cmL x 120 cmH, 55 kilos), £1170

Speidel Hydropresses:

          20 litres  (25 cm diameter x 41 cm high cage, 82 cm high overall, 13 kilos), £490
          40 litres  (33 cm diameter x 48 cm high cage, 90 cm high overall, 18 kilos), £690
          90 litres  (44 cm diameter x 59 cm high cage, 107.5 cm high overall, 97 cm to top of cage,
                         28 kilos,), £945

Spare press sacks:-

Speidel: 20 litre, £29
              40 litre, £35
              90 litre, £46

Gomark: green sacks for pressing:-
    for 55 or 80 litre, £27
        120 litre, £30

Gomark: replacement rubber bladders:-
    for 55 litre, £118
        80 litre, £130
       120 litre, £194