The press house is an interesting building that makes the Amanas different from other small towns of the same era. Each village had a house which served as a place to make wine. This was usually near the church, for all wine was stored in the church's basement when it was finished.
The press house in South Amana was not near the church. It was directly north of the school near the vineyard. It resembled a woodshed or garage from the outside. On the inside it was largely dominated by the press. This press was so large that it took for men turning the handles for it to operate. From the press, the juice was put into tubs and barrels to ferment. This was usually done in the adjacent part of the shed. This next fact is what I find very intriguing. The finished wine was transported from the press house to the church via an underground tile system. The tile was ceramic and the spigot for its release is still in the wall of the basement of the church. This moved the wine about half the length of the town underground! It was a gravity system, no pump was used as far as I was able to find out.
This wine was doled out to all of the adult family members. Each man received 20 gallons a year, and each woman received about 12 gallons per year. There were those that did not drink. Often they still received their allotment and gave it to those that did! Some also put it into bottles and sold it to the hired-in farm help. The hired-in help consisted of non-community members. They were not included in wine allotments. This selling also gave the sellers a little money, which was always a luxury (and probably a sin!).
The only wine that was not pressed was communion wine. The grapes were fermented and the wine poured off. This is why communion wine was very clear. Since communion took place only every other year, this type of wine was aged well.