Grape clusters are gravity-fed through a pair of counter-rotating grooved rollers that compress and split the skins as they pass through. From there, the crushed grape clusters fall onto a concave destemming grate that runs the length of the machine. A rotating shaft with angled paddles moves the material along the grate, separating the stems from the fruit, allowing the fruit to fall through the holes in the grate while the stems exit out the end of the Crusher Destemmer. The machine is usually mounted on a stand with a chute that can be placed over a bucket to collect the must (destemmed and crushed grapes).
Compact and economical, powered by a small electric motor or manual operation, and typically have a maximum production around 1.0 ton per hour, Crusher Destemmers are easy to use and have very low maintenance.
Crushing before destemming results in the extraction of astringent and harsh tannins from undesired materials (stems, leaves, jacks, twigs, etc.). Crushed stems and debris are more likely to fall through the grate with the fruit.
