These are bunches of Cabernet Souvignon. While I am making Merlot, the vines were already picked and so I substituted a picture of these instead. The merlot were fully ripe and tested a little over 22 brix or 22% sugar. With a complete fermentation, these should yield a wine of about 12.6% ethanol (25.2 proof).
The bunches are picked and placed in large plastic containers. If they are not picked up within a day, they are kept in refrigerated storage.
This is the top of a stemmer-crusher. The bunches are loaded into the hopper and the auger feeds them into the machinery.
A screen captures most of the stems which are expelled out the side while the berries are run thru a set of soft rollers which rupture them. They then drop into a stainless steel trough. The crushed berries and juice are then loaded into containers for me to take home. (I use a couple of picnic coolers lined with 2 heavy gauge clear plastic bags.)