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Explainers · 8 min read
Wine Equipment Glossary
A plain-English glossary of the wine production equipment terms buyers meet while comparing machines and requesting quotes — organised alphabetically, from crush to bottle. Definitions are buying education, not engineering or safety advice; confirm specifications with suppliers. Where a term has its own guide, follow the link.
A
Airlock — A valve fitted to a tank, carboy, or variable capacity tank lid that lets fermentation CO2 escape while preventing air from entering.
Auger — A rotating screw that moves grapes or must through processing equipment such as a crusher-destemmer or feed hopper.
Automatic filler — A bottling machine that fills multiple bottles per cycle with minimal operator input, suited to higher case volumes. See bottling setup for small wineries.
B
Bâtonnage — Stirring of lees during ageing; relevant to equipment because it influences tank fittings and access.
Basket press — A press that applies vertical force to a plate above grapes held in a slatted cylindrical cage; available in manual, ratchet, and hydraulic forms. See basket press types.
Bladder press — A pneumatic press in which a central bladder inflates outward against fruit held in a perforated cage. A form of pneumatic press.
Bottle rinser — A bottling-line station that rinses bottles (often with water or sterilising solution) before filling.
Brix — A measure of sugar content in grape juice, used to track ripeness and predict alcohol; a refractometer or hydrometer reads it.
Bung — A stopper sealing a barrel or tank opening.
C
Cap — The mass of skins and solids that floats to the top during red fermentation; managed by punch-down or pump-over equipment.
Cap management — Equipment and techniques (punch-down tools, pump-over systems) that keep the cap wet and extract colour and tannin.
Cartridge filter — A filter using a replaceable pleated cartridge, typically for final polish or sterile filtration at the bottling line.
CIP (Clean-in-Place) — Automated cleaning of equipment internals without disassembly, common on crossflow filters and tanks.
Cold stabilisation — Chilling wine to precipitate tartrate crystals before bottling; relies on refrigeration or glycol chilling.
Conical fermenter — A tank with a cone-shaped bottom that concentrates and eases removal of lees.
Corker — A machine that compresses and inserts corks into filled bottles; ranges from hand corkers to floor and automatic models. See how to choose a corking machine.
Crossflow filtration — Filtration in which wine flows tangentially across a membrane so solids stay in circulation rather than clogging it. See what is crossflow filtration.
Crush pad — The outdoor or covered area where fruit is received, sorted, crushed, and pressed. See crush pad planning.
Crusher-destemmer — A machine that removes stems and breaks berries to produce must. See how to choose a crusher-destemmer.
D
Dead-end filtration — Filtration where all wine is forced straight through the medium (pad or cartridge), as opposed to crossflow.
Destemmer — A machine that separates grapes from stems without necessarily crushing them. See destemmer vs crusher-destemmer.
Diaphragm pump — A pump that moves wine using a flexing diaphragm; valued for gentle, contamination-resistant transfer. See winery pumps 101.
Diatomaceous earth (DE) — A powdered filter aid used in some filtration systems; a consumable with handling and disposal considerations.
Dosage — In sparkling production, the addition that sets final sweetness; relevant to specialised filling equipment.
E
Elevation (gravity flow) — Using height to move wine without pumping, reducing handling; influences cellar and crush pad layout.
Enzyme dosing — Adding enzymes to juice or must; some systems include dosing equipment.
F
Fining — Adding agents to clarify or stabilise wine; precedes filtration in many workflows.
Filter pad / sheet — The consumable medium in a plate-and-frame filter, available in grades from coarse to sterile.
Flexible impeller pump — A pump using a flexing rubber impeller; self-priming and gentle at modest flow, common in small cellars. See wine pump comparison.
Floating lid — The movable, gasket-sealed lid of a variable capacity tank that eliminates headspace.
Floor corker — A free-standing corker operated by a lever, faster than a hand corker for small runs.
Free-run juice — Juice that drains under gravity before pressing; usually kept separate from press fractions.
G
Gasket — A seal (often inflatable on variable capacity tanks) that makes a joint or lid airtight; a wear item to keep clean and replace.
Glycol chiller — A refrigeration unit that cools a glycol/water mix circulated through tank jackets for temperature control. See winery temperature control.
Gravity flow winery — A design that moves juice and wine by height differences to minimise pumping and handling.
H
Headspace (ullage) — The air gap above wine in a part-full vessel; a cause of oxidation that variable capacity tanks and inert gas manage.
Heat exchanger — A device transferring heat between fluids, used for must chilling, cold stabilisation, and flash treatments.
Hopper — The intake bin that feeds fruit into a crusher-destemmer or press.
Hydraulic basket press — A basket press driven by a hydraulic ram for higher, more controllable pressure. See basket press types.
I
Inert gas — Gases such as nitrogen, argon, or CO2 used to blanket wine and purge headspace, protecting against oxygen. See oxygen management equipment.
In-line filling — A bottling configuration where stations operate in a continuous sequence, used in higher-throughput lines.
Isobaric filler — A counter-pressure filler for sparkling or carbonated wine that fills under pressure to retain dissolved CO2.
J
Jacket (cooling/heating jacket) — A dimpled outer skin on a tank through which glycol circulates to control wine temperature.
L
Labeller — A machine that applies labels to bottles, from manual applicators to automated in-line units. See wine labeling machine guide.
Lead time — The interval between ordering equipment and delivery; a key clarification before purchase. See lead times, shipping, and installation.
Lees — Sediment of dead yeast and solids that settles after fermentation; conical and sloped tanks ease its removal.
M
Maceration — Contact between juice and skins for colour, flavour, and tannin; gentle equipment limits over-extraction.
Manway — A sealable access opening on a tank for cleaning and inspection.
Membrane press — A pneumatic press with a side-mounted membrane that inflates across the drum. See how does a pneumatic wine press work.
Micro-oxygenation — Controlled dosing of tiny amounts of oxygen into wine via specialised equipment, mainly for certain reds.
Mobile bottling — A contracted bottling line that comes to the winery, avoiding in-house capital cost. See in-house vs mobile bottling.
Must — Freshly crushed grapes (juice, skins, seeds, and sometimes stems) before or during fermentation.
Must pump — A pump rated to move must with solids, not just clear liquid; see winery pumps 101.
O
Oak barrel — A wooden vessel for fermentation or ageing that adds flavour and controlled oxygen exchange. See stainless steel vs oak fermentation.
Oxidation — Deterioration of wine from oxygen exposure; the problem most cellar transfer and storage equipment aims to limit.
P
Peristaltic pump — A pump that squeezes wine through a flexing tube with rollers; gentle, reversible, self-priming, and able to move must. See winery pumps 101.
Permeate — In crossflow filtration, the clarified wine that passes through the membrane.
Plate-and-frame filter — A filter that forces wine through stacked pads held in frames; budget-friendly but consumable-dependent. See crossflow vs plate filtration.
Pneumatic press — A press that uses compressed air to inflate a membrane or bladder for gentle extraction. See how does a pneumatic wine press work.
Pomace — The solid residue of skins, seeds, and stems left after pressing.
Press fraction — A portion of press juice collected at a given pressure stage; early fractions are typically finer than later ones.
Pump-over (remontage) — Pumping fermenting red wine from the bottom of a tank over the cap to aid extraction.
Punch-down (pigeage) — Submerging the cap into fermenting red must, manually or with a tool.
R
Racking — Transferring wine off its sediment into a clean vessel; relies on careful pumping or gravity. See wine transfer equipment.
Ratchet press — A basket press tightened by a ratchet mechanism, giving more leverage than a plain screw press. See basket press types.
Refractometer — A handheld optical instrument measuring sugar (Brix) in juice.
Retentate — In crossflow filtration, the concentrated stream of solids that does not pass through the membrane.
RFQ (Request for Quotation) — A structured request sent to suppliers to obtain comparable pricing and specs. See how to request a quote.
S
Sanitary fitting — A hygienic, easily cleaned connection (such as tri-clamp) used throughout cellar plumbing.
Semi-automatic filler — A filler that automates filling but needs manual bottle handling; a step between manual and automatic. See bottling setup for small wineries.
Sorting table — A belt or vibrating surface where fruit is inspected and unwanted material removed before crushing; manual, vibratory, or optical. See grape processing equipment.
Sparging — Bubbling inert gas through wine to strip dissolved oxygen.
Sterile filtration — Filtration fine enough to remove yeast and bacteria, typically at the filler, often with a cartridge stage.
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) — The principal preservative in winemaking; dosing equipment and accurate measurement support its use.
T
Tangential filtration — Another name for crossflow filtration. See what is crossflow filtration.
Tartrate — Crystalline deposits that form from natural acids; cold stabilisation precipitates them before bottling.
Throughput — The volume an equipment item can process per unit of time; a core spec when sizing presses, fillers, and pumps.
Topping up — Refilling a tank or barrel to eliminate headspace as volume shrinks; reduced by variable capacity tanks.
Tri-clamp — A common sanitary fitting that clamps two ferrules around a gasket for a quick, hygienic seal.
U
Ullage — See headspace.
V
Variable capacity tank — A stainless tank with a floating lid that stays full at any volume. See variable capacity vs fixed tanks.
Vibratory sorting table — A sorting table that uses vibration to spread and advance fruit for inspection. See grape processing equipment.
W
Whole-cluster pressing — Pressing uncrushed bunches, common for sparkling base and delicate whites; reduces effective press capacity.
Bottom line
Knowing the vocabulary makes comparing equipment far faster — you can read spec sheets, ask sharper questions, and shortlist with confidence. Keep this glossary handy as you research, then move from terms to specific machines.
Browse wine production equipment by category on wine.equipment and put the terms to work as you compare.