Which grape crusher to choose
Before the grapes go under the press, they are processed in different ways depending on the type of wine they plan to produce. Therefore, when choosing a grape crusher and a destemmer, it is important to pay attention to the materials from which the shredder parts are made, the quality of manufacturing, the device, performance, and the resulting fraction. All of this affects the quality of the final product (juice, wine, vinegar).
First, the article will describe the main types of grape crushers and their design, followed by tips on choosing a crusher.
TYPES OF GRAPE CRUSHERS AND CRUSHERS
1) Grape crusher powered by a drill
This shredder handles grapes and any other berries well. However, before shredding, it is necessary to separate the grapes from the stems.
Figure 1. Apple and grape shredder CD-1 (Manufacturer: APPLE PRESS LTD.)
Figure 2. Apple and grape shredder DS-1 (Manufacturer: APPLE PRESS LTD.)
2) Electric apple shredder with a grater
The apple crushers ESE-018 and ESE-055 can also be used for shredding grapes. The grater operates at low speeds, and the shredding disc does not damage the integrity of the grape seed, while the stem remains intact and is pushed through the gap between the shredding disc and the shredder lid. If you plan to make wine rather than juice, it is better to first separate the berries from the stems before shredding. Thus, the apple shredder with the grating disc can be used for both cider production and grape shredding when making wine.
Figure 3. Electric apple and grape shredder ESE-055 (Manufacturer: APPLE PRESS LTD.)
3) Manual or electric grape shredder (crusher) with two rollers
The rollers rotate towards each other and crush the grapes. The distance between the rollers can be adjusted.
Figure 4. Electric grape crusher PMI (Manufacturer: Grifo Marchetti Srl)
4) Manual or electric grape shredder (crusher) with a destemmer
The rollers rotate towards each other and crush the grapes. The distance between the rollers can be changed. After crushing the grapes, the berries are automatically separated from the stems.
Figure 5. Electric grape crusher with destemmer DMCI (Manufacturer: Grifo Marchetti Srl)
5) Electric grape crusher with destemmer and pump
The pump allows you to pump the crushed mass directly into the fermentation or maceration vessel.
Figure 6. Electric grape crusher with destemmer and pump DVEP30I (Manufacturer: Grifo Marchetti Srl)
6) Electric destemmer with optional crusher
The destemmer allows you to separate the berries from the stems without damaging their integrity. The crusher with rubber rollers can be used optionally.
Figure 7. Electric grape crusher with destemmer EMME 200 SX (Manufacturer: ZAMBELLI Enotech s.r.l.)
7) Crush grapes with feet (or hands)
This ancient method, still used in small family farms, is employed in the production of craft wines and the finest port wines.
Sanitary standards are easy to maintain: feet are washed, and fermentation kills most microorganisms.
Video 1. Adriano Celentano crushes grapes with his feet (Film "The Taming of the Shrew," 1980)
CHOOSING A GRAPE SHREDDER
Material of manufacture
Any part of the shredder that comes into contact with grape juice must be made of natural wood, stainless steel, plastic, or painted metal.
It is best to choose a shredder made entirely of food-grade stainless steel grades 08X18N10 (AISI304) or 10X17N13M2T (AISI 316). Some parts of the shredder may be made of oak or beech. These types of wood are characterized by high strength and do not release any harmful substances into the juice.
Resulting fraction and design of the shredder
By changing the distance between the rollers, you can adjust the degree of crushing of the grapes to achieve the desired result. The grape seeds should remain intact when crushing the berries. The shredder can also be used for crushing red and black currants, chokeberries, serviceberries, and other berries.
Some models of crushers have the option to use the destemmer separately and use a removable installation for grape crushing optionally.
With the help of a frequency generator or mechanical variator, you can adjust the speed of the feeding auger and the speed of the rollers, as well as the speed of the destemmer paddles, which allows you to fine-tune the unit for different grape varieties.
Professional crushers also have the ability to adjust the height and angle of the rubber paddles of the destemmer.
The built-in pump allows you to pump the crushed mass directly into the fermentation or maceration vessel.
Quality of manufacturing
If you are buying a stainless steel shredder, pay attention to the welds. Signs of overheating (burning) of the metal are unacceptable. All seams should be treated after welding, and the protective oxide layer that increases its corrosion resistance should be restored. This process is called passivation.
Figure 8. Treated seam after welding
Also, pay attention to the quality of the root of the seam. To obtain a proper, quality seam during welding, back purging (supplying protective gas to the back side of the seam) is necessary. Otherwise, the back side of the seam oxidizes, pores and inclusions occur in the root of the seam, and corrosion resistance is lost (even with subsequent passivation).
Figure 9. Root of the seam (1 - welding without back purging, 2 - signs of overheating after welding with back purging, 3 - passivated root of the seam)
Processed parts of the shredder should not have deep scratches from grinding or scratches. All of this can become a source of corrosion and the development of bacteria in the future.
When in contact with acidic juice, rust may form in such places, and the final product may acquire a metallic taste.
In the food and pharmaceutical industries, such seams are considered unhygienic. Microorganisms can accumulate in porous, oxidized areas, which is dangerous. Therefore, containers made of stainless steel usually have a mirror-like inner surface and do not have corners so that they can be easily washed.
Metal parts should not have sharp edges, signs of rust, and deep scratches should be removed, and the surface before painting should be rough and degreased. The weld seam before painting should be cleaned of scale, splashes, and excess. The shape of the weld seams should be uniform, without undercuts, pores, and slag inclusions. All of this ensures high adhesion of the metal to the paint.
Metal parts should not have unpainted areas, and the coating layer should be thick enough, without foreign inclusions (dust, debris).
Figure 10. Powder coating of the press frame (1 - coating with foreign inclusions, 2 - unpainted areas, 3 - quality powder coating)
Wooden parts should be free of cracks, large knots, and the surface should be sanded using fine grain. In places of wood defects, the part may break under load, and burrs may tear the filtering bag.
Performance of the shredder
For home winemaking (a small amount of grapes), you can manually separate the grape berries from the stems. It is also necessary to remove damaged, unripe berries and other contaminants. For shredding, it is sufficient to use a drill-powered crusher, an apple grater, or a grape shredder with two rollers.
If you have a large amount of grapes to process, it is better to choose an electric grape shredder with a destemmer. In this case, you will not need to manually separate the berries from the stems.
For industrial use, high-performance grape shredders with a destemmer and pump for pumping the crushed mass into the fermentation vessel are used. Moreover, grape shredding can occur optionally.
Packaging
No matter how good the grape shredder is, unreliable packaging that causes the product to be damaged during delivery can spoil your impression of the purchase.
Pay attention to the packaging of the grape shredder. The crusher should be packed in a sturdy cardboard box, it should not move freely in the box, and all voids should be filled with inserts made of polyethylene foam, cardboard, polystyrene, or other filler. Shock-resistant packaging should be designed to withstand dozens of logistics centers and reliably protect the crusher from impacts and falls during transportation. Large and heavy shredders should be transported only on a pallet.
Figure 11. Shockproof packaging of the apple shredder ESE-018 (Manufacturer: APPLE PRESS LTD.)
Also, pay attention to the environmental friendliness of the packaging. It is best if the box is fastened with metal staples rather than tape. Plastic tape interferes with the subsequent recycling of cardboard. Shockproof inserts should be made of cardboard (for example, honeycomb) or polyethylene foam. There are far fewer points for recycling polystyrene, and it often has to be thrown into the container for unsorted waste, ending up in a landfill and not undergoing subsequent recycling.
And of course, from an ecological standpoint, it is better to buy a higher quality grape shredder that will serve you for many years and can be passed down from generation to generation.
This article is based on many years of experience in the production and sale of grape crushers, as well as other equipment for juice extraction, winemaking, and beverage production.
You can familiarize yourself with the range of grape crushers on our website:
Which press for grapes to choose? - read here
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