Pressing
/ˈprɛsɪŋ/
winemaking, vinification, white-wine, red-wine, sparkling, rosé, extraction, tannins, phenolics, equipment, press-fractions, yield, pomace, quality, regulations•Last updated January 13, 2026
Pressing /ˈprɛsɪŋ/ is the winemaking step in which mechanical pressure is applied to grapes or fermenting pomace to separate the liquid (juice or wine) from the solid parts (skins, pulp, seeds, and sometimes stems). The timing, method, and intensity of pressing strongly influence yield, phenolic extraction, color, tannin structure, and overall wine style.
Examples
- In white winemaking, hand-harvested grapes are loaded whole into a pneumatic press and gently pressed in stages; the winemaker keeps only the free-run and light-press fractions for the estate’s top Chardonnay to avoid excessive bitterness.
- After two weeks of skin contact for a Syrah, the tank is drained of free-run wine and the remaining pomace is moved to a basket press; the more tannic press wine is stored separately and later blended at a small percentage to add structure to the final cuvée.
- For a traditional-method sparkling wine, whole-cluster Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are pressed under strictly limited pressure according to a regulated press program, with only the earliest, purest juice fractions used in the prestige cuvée.