Thursday, May 14, 2009

Shipping The 'Bucher' Grape Press

The main event of the second shipment to Texas was loading the big 'Bucher' bladder press at Monticello winery. This press was one of the first two presses to operate at Monticello Vineyards in Napa Valley. I am thrilled to have it now as a focal point of the exhibit's crush pad area. This press is about 6.5 feet tall by 6.5 feet wide by 13 feet long. It has pressed more tons of grapes than I can begin to estimate. It was operational at Monticello from 1982 until 2005.

The photos show the press being loaded onto a special truck for shipment to San Jose, California where it will be loaded into the trailer that will take it to Texas. Once in Texas I will begin cleaning it and prepping it for painting. I want to restore it as close as possible to it's original colors and markings.