You’ve hit on one of the classic difficulties of making wine at home. The equipment we use, from presses to barrels to filters, usually are much smaller than that used by commercial wineries. Yet the size of the grapes and the job we need our equipment to do remain the same. Getting a better press yield out of grapes, both red and white, is tough for home winemakers. The presses are smaller and, especially with hand-operated basket presses, there’s only so much force we can apply to the grapes. Your tale of wet, heavy grape skins tells me that indeed you did leave a lot of juice behind. Fortunately, there are a few things that small-scale winemakers can do to improve juice yields. Think about using a maceration enzyme for white grapes. Enological enzymes are naturally occurring proteins that, when added at the crush stage and before pressing, can help break down the cells in the grape skin and pulp, which improves the press’s ability to release juice. Bottles of enzyme can be purchased from commercial winery labs like Scott
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