• Rinse grapes and place them on clean tea towels or paper towels and allow to dry.
• Separate grapes from the branches and place them in a very large mixing bowl or cooking pot. See note 1 below.
• Using either your hands or a weight press the grapes to remove their juice. If you have a juicer you can use that instead.
• Place a strainer over a bowl or cooking pot. Strain the grape juice to separate the skins from the juice.
• Press and squeeze the skins a little bit more inside the strainer to remove any remnant juice and then discard them.

Without Ashes:

• Add the grape juice (must) to a large cooking pot. Bring to a boil then turn heat to medium.
• Skim all the foam and dirt from the surface. Then turn the heat off and allow it to cool down to room temperature.
• Strain the grape must through a muslin cloth, passing it through 2 times.
• Store in bottles or jars for 2 days in the fridge or place in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Using Ashes:

• Add the grape juice (must) to a large cooking pot together with the ashes.
• Bring to a boil then drop heat to medium and skim the surface until clear from all the foam and dirt that arise.
• Turn the heat off. If using a stainless steel pot let the must cool inside the pot overnight. Otherwise, transfer the grape must to a large glass bowl to sit overnight.
• By the next day, all remnant dirt will have sunk at the bottom. Ladle the clear must from the top into clean jars or bottles, passing it first through a muslin cloth.
• Store in jars or bottles and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or store in the freezer for up to 6 months.