Press Wine

press wine, dark red wine squeezed from pomace (grape skins, stem fragments, pulp, dead yeast) in a wine press. Press wine is generally inferior in quality to free-run wine, and certainly more astringent, although some presses are capable of exerting pressure in controlled stages so that the product of the first, gentle pressing is very close to free-run in quality. Continuous screw presses in particular often exert such pressure that the product is excessively bitter and astringent. A certain proportion of press wine may be usefully incorporated into the free-run wine, especially if it lacks tannin. Whether to include press wine in the blend, and how much to include, depends very much on the desired style of the wine and the vintage conditions. Otherwise it is used for a lesser bottling or, traditionally, given to workers at the establishment which produced it.