🍷 Press juice
Also known as: press wine, pressings
Juice or wine squeezed out by the press; coarser and more tannic.
Press juice is juice or wine squeezed by a press from the crushed grapes. The first juice flows out by itself, under the weight of the berries. It is called free-run juice and is considered the cleanest and most delicate. Then the grapes are squeezed by a press, and press juice runs out.
Press juice is darker, coarser and richer in tannins than free-run. It has more matter from the skins and seeds. The harder the press squeezes, the sharper and more astringent the liquid becomes. So the winemaker usually separates the fractions: free-run and light pressing go into the best wine, while hard pressing is used separately or added in small amounts.
In red wines such juice is often added to the main wine for density and structure. In whites and sparkling wines it is used more carefully to keep finesse. The amount of press juice added shapes the style of the wine. Press juice belongs to grape must in the broad sense: it comes from the same raw material but is obtained differently. It is a normal step in the winemaker's work.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Press juice → kind of → 🥃 Grape must ← made from ← 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🥃 Grape must
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Free-run juice
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that press juice is a waste fraction?
Not quite. It is a normal step in the winemaker's work, used separately or added to the main wine in small amounts.
Why do winemakers separate free-run from press juice?
Free-run is cleanest and most delicate; the harder the press squeezes, the sharper and more astringent the liquid.
How does press juice shape wine style?
More in reds for density, used carefully in whites and sparkling wines to keep finesse.