A couple of weeks ago, the family and I headed for a little day trip to Langhorne Creek. 

One of our stops along the way was to pay a visit to one of our lovely Jockey Club members who works at a pretty big winery in the area. 

Dean generously showed us through a beautiful range of wines and then took us for a tour through the fascinating museum they have on site.

You see, Bleasdale is one of the oldest wineries in Australia. It was founded by a gentleman by the name of Frank Potts in 1850. According to their website, “Frank was a carpenter who took to boat building, a farmer who took to wine making and the man who built a wine dynasty.”

If you want o find out more about his you can find it here.

And it turns out, Frank was a pretty handy sort of character. Rumour has it, he built his wife a piano because she missed the one she had to leave behind in England so much!

And his massive twin-basket lever press, its lever made from a single massive 3.5-tonne red-gum trunk, is still the centre-piece of the winery today.

I forgot to take a photo, so here are a couple I “borrowed” from the internet…

As I marvelled at that massive piece of redgum, the idea for this blog hit me (see, I knew I could write this trip off on tax if I tried hard enough!!).

How has grape crushing evolved throughout the ages? And was Frank’s invention integral to the development of the modern day press?

Let’s take a look…

The Evolution of Grape Crushing

The Ancient Tradition of Foot Crushing

The history of grape crushing stretches back thousands of years to the earliest known winemaking practices in ancient civilizations such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. In these early days, winemakers would crush grapes by treading on them with their feet in large stone or wooden vats. This labour-intensive process was communal in nature and often held cultural and ceremonial significance.

While foot crushing was an effective way of extracting juice from grapes, it also had its drawbacks. The crush was unrefined, and the risk of damaging the grapes too much—thereby releasing unwanted compounds from the skins and seeds—was a concern for winemakers.

Also…

…feet.

Gross!

 

The Mechanical Presses

By the 16th century, winemakers began to innovate with mechanical presses to overcome the limitations of foot crushing. These devices used wooden or metal frames to apply pressure to grape clusters, thereby extracting juice with more consistency and control. These early presses, however, were still quite rudimentary, relying on manual labour to operate and requiring a lot of physical effort.

The mechanical press became more refined throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, with many variations emerging in Europe. But despite these advancements, the process remained labour-intensive and relatively slow.

That is, until Frank came along…

 

Frank Potts and the Lever Press

In the 1850s, Frank revolutionised the grape crushing process with the invention of his lever press. Potts, who had already earned a reputation for innovation in his winemaking practices, sought to create a more efficient and effective way of extracting juice from grapes.

The lever press was a significant improvement over earlier mechanical methods. Unlike the manual, screw-driven presses that were common at the time, Potts’ lever press used a system of levers and pulleys to apply controlled pressure to the grape must. This allowed for a more consistent and gentle extraction of juice, preserving the delicate flavours and aromas of the grapes without over-extracting tannins and bitter compounds from the skins and seeds. The system also allowed for a higher volume of grapes to be crushed at once, which increased efficiency in the winemaking process.

One of the key benefits of the lever press was its ability to be operated by just a few people, rather than requiring a large team to turn a hand-cranked press. It made the entire winemaking process faster, less labour-intensive, and more precise, which helped increase production while maintaining high standards of quality.

The press was a milestone in winemaking history!

 

Hydraulic and Pneumatic Presses

The lever press was just one step in a long history of technological advancements in grape crushing. By the early 20th century, hydraulic and pneumatic presses began to replace mechanical presses. These modern presses used hydraulic or air pressure to gently extract juice from grapes, eliminating the need for mechanical levers or screws altogether.

The advantage of these systems was their precision. They allowed winemakers to adjust the amount of pressure applied to the grapes, ensuring that only the best juice was extracted while minimising the extraction of harsh tannins from the skins. This provided even greater control over the winemaking process, leading to more refined wines.

Today, grape crushing has become a highly automated process, with large wineries using computerised systems to monitor and adjust every aspect of the crushing and pressing process. Pneumatic and hydraulic presses have become the standard, offering consistency, efficiency, and minimal damage to the fruit.

 

 

While winemaking technology has advanced dramatically, the principles behind grape crushing remain largely the same: extract juice with care, preserve the fruit’s character, and avoid over-extraction of undesirable elements. 

And luckily for Rob, thanks to pioneers like Frank, we can leave the days of foot pressing behind us.