I don't have a press, and didn't know how else to go at the grapes.
> Does anyone else ever use the victorio for processing grapes or fruit?
> I can see where having a wine press would be so VERY handy....
Not sure what a victorio strainer is, but I'm assuming it is some sort of food processor.
I hope you destemmed the grapes first! Otherwise the wine will be very tannic and bitter, and take quite a bit of aging before it will be drinkable.
You can speed up the destemming process by scraping them across a milk crate, or 1" chicken wire (poultry netting) mounted in some sort of frame --- with either suspended over the primary. That takes about 1/3 the time of pulling them off the clusters one by one.
The problem with a juicer, food processor, or "all-purpose fruit crusher", is that we don't want to break open the seeds, or the wine will be very bitter. According to a recent post (I think it was Clyde's), for white wines, we don't want to macerate the skins either, as this will release certain undesireables, just as if we fermented "on the skins".
An electric or crank-operated grape crusher does a very quick job, but the least expensive ones cost about $200. If you can't buy or borrow one, or you are only dealing with a few grapes, put the grapes in a 5-gallon white plastic paint bucket (sold at Walmart and Home Depot for about $2, or at your local home brew for $10), and pound them gently, butter-churn style with a 4x4 post. Since the grapes tend to float as the liquid is squeezed out of them, making the task more difficult (hard to crush a floating object), pick up a few $1 nylon "paint strainers" at Walmart or Home Depot (or a more expensive "press" bag" at YLHB), load them with grapes, put them in the bucket, and pound them with 4x4. Then, when this batch is crushed, pour off the juice, empty the bags into another bucket (if you are fermenting on the skins), and continue with another 5-gallons of grapes. It goes pretty quickly.
It's best to crush outdoors, as there will always be a bit of a mess.
Or should I have just stomped or mashed the grapes with feet or masher?
Stomping grapes by foot is romantic, but not very efficient. And talk about messy.....
A 4x4 works much better then a masher --- unless you are doing a very small quantity.
There's also a lot of really fine suspension in the wine....
> So I hope this was all worth it, it looks like a greenish brown stew...
This is normal. The colour of the must will initially be greenish brown, and not very appetizing. Within a few days it will be a dark red.
i just pitched the yeast tonight, so we'll see how it goes for the next
couple of days.
Be sure and punch down the cap (or stir the must ) twice daily, so the cap doesn't dry out. This will aid extraction (of colour and flavour), and reduce the chance of baceterial infection. And keep it covered!