When to remove the pulp?

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WilliamSlayer

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I started my first Strawberry wine this week. Very excited, but never started with whole fruit before.
The berrys are in the fermenter in a mesh bag.

To sum up:

Punching the Cap twice per day for three days now, when should I remove the fruit?
 
WilliamSlayer said:
I started my first Strawberry wine this week. Very excited, but never started with whole fruit before.
The berrys are in the fermenter in a mesh bag.

To sum up:

Punching the Cap twice per day for three days now, when should I remove the fruit?

I left mine in 7 days.
 
In my experience, 5-8 days seems to be the norm...it just varies per fruit and fermentation conditions. With soft fruits like strawberries you may notice they break down into mush, much like a berry that was smashed and found in the bottom of a bin days later, but super pulpy. Plus they may start to lose their color, actually turning white....a sign of the fruit's readiness for removal.
 
Well, I'm going to give them one more day, then remove them. Fermentation is really hopping right now, but I worry about losing my CO2 cap.

I plan to pitch more yeast after pulp removal. Seems logical to keep fermentation at a good clip. Any reason not to? (Same yeast as initial pitch btw)
 
Well, I'm going to give them one more day, then remove them. Fermentation is really hopping right now, but I worry about losing my CO2 cap.

I plan to pitch more yeast after pulp removal. Seems logical to keep fermentation at a good clip. Any reason not to? (Same yeast as initial pitch btw)

No need to pitch more yeast, there should be a huge colony established if you used the standard 5gm per six gallons. What yeast did you use?

What was your original gravity and what is it now?
 
No need to pitch more yeast, there should be a huge colony established if you used the standard 5gm per six gallons. What yeast did you use?

What was your original gravity and what is it now?

I used D-47 and pitched 2 packs.

The OG was 1.084 and I'm @ 1.010 or so having just dropped a hydrometer in there. Yikes! I'm almost done after just 5 days!

It's past midnight here, but I'm pulling the fruit in the morning and sealing it up.
 
Until fermentation is >completely< and forever done (which honestly, is only (maybe) after stabilizing), I wouldn't worry too terribly much about re-establishing a CO2 cap. Even after the yeast slips into well-deserved rest, your wine will naturally degas itself for a while, giving off CO2.

It's a lovely friendly thing.

Which is not to diminish the importance of topping off and maintaining minimal headspace; but I'd not worry too too much about losing a bit of CO2.
 
Good to keep that in mind, and if this were not my first 'from the fruit' wine I probally wouldn't be stressing quite as much. :)

"Experience breeds indifference!"

Removing the pulp today and draining it with help from a collander.
 
I would not pitch any more either. Hopefully I will be able to bottle my strawberry wine next week. I only leave the fruit in for 5 days, but I live in Southern Mississippi and I am always afraid of mold. Things mold here even in the sunlight, so as a safety precaution, 5 days is the max. Did you make a starter for your yeast? The first wine I ever made was Prickly Pear and I literally "pitched" the yeast right in the bucket. It was good wine but I was told it smelled a little yeasty. Now I always make a starter.
 
Yes, I double pitched (2 packets) my yeast with the thought that some (most?) Would be removed when I removed the pulp.

I took another gravity reading, and was @ 1.004

The wisdom of my peers shines through! I got bubbles in my airlock almost right away, with no extra yeast. :)

Now, my pulp was definitly a light pink (remember this is a Strawberry wine), but there was lots of color left in them. Should that have completely drained out? Should I have washed the pulp with a bit of water?

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I think your good. I have the same feeling when I take my fruit out. I always think that I am wasting something. But I have to get over that. I have made some damn fine wine, that didn't clear because I insisted on getting every ounce of that wonderful fruit bounty. I even wondered if you could dry the fruit and make adult fruit rollups! :)
 
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