(Wines&Vines) —It started with vintage corkscrews, but soon antiques dealer Jim McCormick was buying lab equipment from the 19th century, cast-iron grape crushers from some of California’s oldest wineries and copper smudge pots from another era.

McCormick, who lives in Petaluma, Calif., is an art and antiques dealer who found a niche matching high-end, rare corkscrews with wealthy collectors. While scouting for corkscrews, he came across a variety of old winemaking equipment, and for nearly 30 years he’s been collecting it all. “Along the way, I found the other stuff so intriguing,” he said.

Today, McCormick’s collection is comprised of more than 4,000 individual pieces stored in four warehouses.

Some of McCormick’s antiques include:

• An iron crusher with fir wood hopper from the C. Krug winery, circa 1890-1910.

• A “scissor style” basket press from the late 19th century that appears to have been made in Hungary but was used in Sonoma County, Calif. • A double-tank sulfur dispenser designed to be carried on the back of a mule, circa 1910-1930.

• Copper vineyard injectors for Phylloxera, circa 1890-1910. • Bellows-powered French transfer pumps, circa 1850-1870. The complete collection can be found at californiawinemuseum.com, and interested parties can contact McCormick directly with offers. That, however, wasn’t his original plan.