Pressed the Pinot!
I checked the sugars…5 Brix.
Because of the intensity of the tannins, and the bitterness, I decided to go ahead and press off the skins and seeds. I started with about 12 gallons of must, and ended up with maybe 7 gallons of pressed wine, in a 6 gallon carboy plus two 1 gallon jugs.
There is still quite a bit of the ferment to finish, so I will keep the glass up in the wine making room, which is a bit warmer than the cellar.
The bladder press worked great! It is a 90L press, or about 22 gallon. I prefilled it most of the way, so that the 12 gallons of must would fill the press the rest of the way. I was off only by a few inches. I got about 4-5 gallons of free run, the other 2 gallons of press run.
The carboys are topped with airlocks, and are bubbling away as the ferment completes….hopefully within a week or so. I also put in the 4 wood staves into the 6 gallon carboy for the rest of the ferment.