Alte Kelter – Old Wine Press

Read the audio guide

From harvesting the grapes to pressing the juice

The grape harvest takes many forms. Machines now help with the work, but hand-picking remains particularly important on steep, difficult-to-access slopes such as those of the Roter Hang. Grapes are cut with secateurs, placed in buckets or crates and carried out of the rows. They are collected in grape trailers or in a Butt or Kiepe, a large container carried on the back.

Careful selection and gentle handling

Selective hand-picking allows growers to distinguish between qualities while still in the vineyard. Unripe or diseased grapes can be removed immediately. This gentle approach is especially important in the production of high-quality wines.

Since the 1980s, mechanical grape harvesters have become an increasingly familiar autumn sight. Both self-propelled and tractor-drawn models are used. As they move through the rows, they shake the berries from the vines, collect them in containers and empty them into trailers. Modern machines can also destem the grapes and sort them by quality. The audio guide describes equipment capable of further processing in the vineyard, carrying out tasks otherwise performed in the cellar.

A long history of pressing

Wine presses were already used in antiquity. One early way of extracting juice was to tread grapes with bare feet. The must ran through an outlet at the edge of the basin and was collected. Mechanical presses using weights and pressure followed, with hydraulic basket presses appearing in the mid-19th century.

Modern pneumatic presses use automated programmes to control the pressing process. Depending on the grapes and the method, a high proportion of juice can be extracted; the recording mentions up to 80 per cent. A historic example stands here at the Alte Kelter, the old wine press. To explore this development further, visit the German Viticulture Museum in Oppenheim, whose collection includes presses from different periods and early mechanical harvesters.

Discover the many other stages of the winegrower’s year at the Communion Table stop.