Mori PZ Hydraulic Basket Presses (0.7–1.4 Tons)

Mori has been making the PZ series of presses for over 50 years. They are widely regarded as the industry standard for high quality hydraulic presses the world over. If you've worked in the wine industry—particularly if you've worked in Europe or Australia where the name “Mori” is practically synonymous with basket presses—you know the Mori press.

Standard Operation

• The frame that supports the hydraulic ram
• A rolling trolley that holds the pan and basket

Users load the basket with grapes via must pump, elevator, or the regular old bucket brigade. Once the basket is full, the trolley can be wheeled to the frame and positioned underneath the pressing plate. Turn the press on, start the ram moving down, and press away. Juice runs out the basket and into the tray, which has a 1.5" tri clamp outlet to pump off the juice.

When you're done pressing you can roll the trolley off. The baskets split in half, so you will be left with the pressed-out cake in the center, which you can dispose of with a shovel—though we have seen users come up with some ingenious forklift/rigging systems to dump the cake more quickly.

If you want extra throughput and minimal downtime while unloading/reloading you can order another trolley and basket. This will let you quickly move a second pre-filled basket under the press after the first batch is done. While the second batch is pressing you can unload the first basket and reload it with fresh grapes to quickly repeat the process. Contact us about this option.

Mori’s hydraulic basket presses are extremely customizable. Custom configure one that meets your specific needs and personal preference for bells and/or whistles. We'll go over the possible customizations below.

Model

PZ 60 holds 250 L, or roughly 3/4 ton of red grapes that have been fermented. PZ 70 holds 350 L, about a ton of the same. PZ 80 holds 500 L, or 1.4 tons of fermented red. Beyond the size, all models are largely the same.

If you are looking at Mori‘s website, or referring to its nameplate on a press you already have, Mori calls these presses PZ 85, PZ 78, and PZ 83 respectively. Don't get us started on the very unusual and confusing naming convention where somehow 85 represents a smaller press than an 83. We chose to eschew it, and name them according to the diameter of the basket. Mori actually followed this convention on their other presses, but cling to the odd naming convention for this press series.

Basket Material

Here is where you can really start going wild with customization. A wooden basket costs next to nothing (relative to most equipment in a winery, anyway) and looks beautiful. But they're harder to sanitize and more fragile. Wood will eventually just deteriorate unless you meticulously care for it and keep it out of the elements. Two options with wood: the hoops that hold the basket together can either be carbon steel painted with food-grade paint, or stainless steel for easier cleaning and greater longevity.

The food-grade plastic basket represents a nod to the past in terms of aesthetics. Price-wise it's pretty darn close to stainless steel, so you won't save much by choosing it. You will have a showpiece press that is much easier to clean and sanitize than wood, though.

Stainless is the most expensive option. It is the most durable and easiest to clean, by far, though. If you want to "buy it once", going with stainless is a no-brainer.

Dual-Speed Pump

The base Mori Press comes with a one-speed hydraulic pump. The ram moves slowly and at a very high pressure. This can be tedious if you are trying to quickly get the ram lowered into position for pressing, or if you need to quickly raise the ram out of the way after use. That being the case, Mori offers the dual-speed pump option. With this option you now have the ability to engage a high speed/low pressure pump that moves the ram up and down quickly. You can't add this on after the fact, and it's a really nice upgrade. On the PZ 80—and maybe even the PZ 70—we'd say this is a must-have. On the PZ 60, it's a very-nice-to-have.

Temporizer

Temporizer is Mori's name for a semiautomatic press timing system. It gives you the ability to set an on duration for pressing and a resting duration.

For example, you could set the on duration to one minute and the resting duration to three minutes. Then just hit start and the ram will alternate between moving down for one minute and resting for three minutes to allow free run juice out. It will continue this cycle until the maximum pressure is reached, at which point it shuts off automatically.

Using a slow build-up allows you to get the absolute most out of your grapes with gentle pressing. It minimizes the risk of the grapes forming an internal lattice with unpressed pockets of grapes. This means you can get maximum extraction without necessarily needing to dial the pressure up all the way.

All-Stainless Trolley

The frame of the trolley is normally painted steel. If you prefer a stainless trolley that will be more resistant to scrapes and scratches, this is the way to go for not much more.

• Hydraulic pressures up to 350 Bar
• Adjustable pressure sensor allows users set maximum desired pressure.
• Split basket for access to pressed cake
• Rolling cart to hold basket and press tray for easy loading/unloading
• Wheeled dolly to move entire press around your facility
• Approx. fermented red capacities of 0.7 tons, 1 ton, and 1.4 tons (PZ 60, PZ 70, PZ 80)