Bladder Presses

[Paul E. Lehmann]

Does anyone have experience using a bladder press?

How does pressing time compare to a regular ratchet press?

I am considering putting one on my Christmas Wish List.

[Paul]

I bought a 40L german bladder press this year and it works very well. Much
faster than a ratchet press, and easy to clean. The pulp is pressed very
dry as far as I can tell. This model took a long time to arrive, and you
may have to order early in the spring to get one by the end of summer. It
was more expensive than a ratchet press, but since it weighed so much less
I saved a major amount on shipping. The ratchet one had to go by truck, and
the bladder press could go ups.

[tdjudd]

put it on you wish list!!!
the pressure comes from all sides not just top to bottom
no need to stir the unsqueezed grapes from the middle of the press.
all juice from all sectors is treated and pressed evenly.

past practice was to add small amounts, press, add more grapes, press,
add more grapes
(sounds like the instructions on a shampoo bottle, lather-rinse-
repeat.)

and yet the grapes in the middle were still whole, unbroken and
juicy.

bladder is good

ted

[farmer2b]

Yes - I have used them, big and small, and once you do, you will never
want to go back...:) As many mentioned before, it applies even
pressure to all the grapskins in the hopper, insuring good extraction
and easy cleanup. Enjoy!

[Storyteller1225]

What is the smallest bladder press anyone seen? We have huge one at
our commercial winery, we just pressed 5 tons Chambourcin last
weekend, but I'm looking for something to do smaller batches at home.
thanks for any pointers.

[Paul]

A German 40 litre model holds up to two 5 gallon buckets of grapes/must.
Very useful. This is the smallest I've seen.