I was also surprised to read that it's becoming more common. I thought that it was mainly done in macro brewing. I have to say that using an apple press is quite a creative idea! If you get a chance to try it, let us know if it worked for you or not... I may want to try it too.
Man this looks really great... sounds like you've really found something you're happy with and that's the best feeling, really! Anybody else here give this a go? Maybe with some variations? Wonder what you guy ended up with!