Wine press

A wine (from the Latin calcatorium, dt Fußtretung, after initially normal operation of the ( shoeless ) squeezing of the material to be pressed using autogenous human weight), regional and Torkel, is a press for the production of fruit and fruit juices, as well as precursors of wine and fermented must. To reinforce the pressing pressure while different mechanical implementation procedures such as levers, gears, etc., and drive method ( muscle power of animals and humans, electrical energy, etc.) are used.

Shortens the name also stands for a wine press house, the room or the building in which the related press stands.

Name and history

Wine presses ( " kick with their feet" from the Latin calcare ) denotes the pressing of grapes or other fruit. The fruits are usually already in crushed form as mash before, to facilitate juice extraction. Often the treader of grapes is also used synonymously for the wine-making in general ( " wine is made ", that is produced ).

Landscaped are for wine, the terms Torkel, Torggel or Torggl common ( torcula of medieval Latin, Latin torcular, torculum "Press", derived from torquere " turn " ), especially in the highly Alemannic region, in Switzerland, also Trotte. In West Germany, the term " wine " or " Torkel " the tree press, while the term " wine cellar" refers to the spindle winepress.

For centuries, grapes were pressed by the mash was stamped with the feet. Among the Romans, then came wooden lever presses used, so-called wine trees or wine presses. Later spindle wine presses were used as modernized still in use.

Technology

Baumkelter

North of the Alps the tree wine presses were probably taken directly from the Romans; possible but it is also a revival of the wine tree in the context of early medieval monastic culture. The fact that many components of a Baumkelter bear Latin names, does not allow any conclusion about the temporal acquisition in southwest Germany. However, there are already in medieval manuscripts, pictures of tree wine presses, which were almost unchanged used until the 20th century as grape presses. If the Baumkelter was correspondingly large, so that one could produce a compact pressure closely matches the modern presses.

To operate more wine servants were required. First, " opened " to the wine tree by the heavy stone was lowered to the ground. Then the servants poured wine the grapes to the press table and covered it with beams to distribute the pressure evenly. The expiring in advance without pressure juice, the " premature legacy ", was the best and most sought after wine. Was he expired, then turned the wine servants the heavy stone at one end of the wine tree to where they moved the thread on the spindle upwards. The stone now hung in the air and pushed the heavy strains of the wine tree down. Was the juice pressed, the tree had to be reopened. With the help of an ax one divided the cake and piled it on again, so that the pressing process is repeated and thus the juice yield could be increased. Only when the pomace was mostly dry, ended the presses. However, one often still poured water on the coffee grounds and then pressed again. The aqueous grape juice was fermented into wine and consumed as a house drink. In some parts of freshly squeezed wine was sold " under the winepress ", ie not incorporated from the tenants.

The wine presses of other fruits occurred largely the same, only bigger and stabilieren fruits such as apples and pears must be done before a crushing.

Already in the 14th century tree wine presses are also mentioned in written sources. Perhaps the tree wine presses were initially outdoors, but no later than in the early modern buildings erected around them, so that they could squeeze the grapes in any weather. The oldest known tree in the German press room is located in Austria in the wine-growing region in the Kamp Valley Weinschlössl Godfried stone damage in Engabrunn. Press the tree decorates the year 1564th The Tree Press was originally located in Göttweiger Lesehof to Engabrunn. In the areas of intensive viticulture the press houses are often the most historic building on the site - apart from the churches, town halls greater than or town houses. To maintain order in the presses, issued the reigns wine orders which are recorded in the stock books or arable. Often the gentlemen were responsible for the upkeep of the wine presses, and got a portion of the pressed grape juice in return.

The Museum of Viticulture Metzingen in Baden -Württemberg, there is the world's largest ensemble of press-houses. On one originally on the outskirts of the city located place today are still seven press houses that are used differently today. In a wine museum is still a Kelterbaum 1655 to see. With the incorporated towns Neuhausen at Erin's, where also a Kelterbaum from the early 17th century has been preserved, and Glems the city has ten former wine presses. Only in a winepress in Neuhausen grapes are pressed today.

The vats with their wine trees were used in part to the 1960s and then replaced by electric presses. In the press-houses more wine trees were mostly housed. After these were no longer needed, you broke off the most, so that only a few functional tree wine presses have been preserved as historic monuments of culture. Superfluous press houses was broken also from or received it as a striking building by being umnutzte. So the seven press houses on the square in Metzingen are used today as hard wine, wine and fruit Museum, Showroom of Weingärtnergenossenschaft, restaurant, fruit bearing, City Library and market wine.

Spindle Kelter

The first mechanical pressing, produced the necessary pressure for pressing by means of a spindle. This spindle vats called screw presses require significantly less space than tree wine presses. As can be seen from the figures, passed both the context as well as spindle of wood on the first models. For reasons of stability of the material was replaced by the metal over time.

Modern wine machines

Modern wine machines work with compressed air and automatic control.

Pictures

Baumkelter from the 17th century ( town of Blankenburg )

Torkel in Ravensburg

Spindle wine in Dirmstein, replica 1984

Wine press with two spindles ( Hoflößnitz in Radebeul )

Spindle wine with wood spindle back to the 17th century (Kloster Eberbach, Rheingau)

Spindle wine with metal spindle (early 20th century, open-air museum Roscheider yard )

Apples in waterbath before pressing,

Filling of apple juice in a small modern winery

Wine festivals

In South Tyrol, the Toerggelen following the grape harvest was a festive event for quite some time. As part of the return to traditional notions of quality in wine production in the period around 1990 also arose in German wine or cider or wine regions wine festivals days. Here, grapes or fruit are publicly pressed, the result can then be tasted on the spot. Typically, here come hand-operated screw presses. A special feature is the reconstructed Roman wine presses on the Mosel. In these, the mash is traditionally stamped with the feet in wine festivals.