Persimmon Wine Question

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noah0189

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Hey all,
Newer winemaker here. I’ve made a kit wine, apfelwein and mead, but this is my first fresh fruit wine and I need some help...

I started my batch one week ago using the following recipe, but adapted it for a bigger batch:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-korean-persimmon-wine-recipe-2118534
Here are my ingredients:

15 lbs Fuyu persimmons (roughly 3 gallons puréed)

12.5 lbs of sugar (6.25 lbs in primary)

5 tsp acid blend

4 gallons of water

5 campden tablets

2.5 tsp yeast nutrient

2.5 tsp pectin enzyme

Omega Hothead Yeast Slurry


Starting SG
1.038

Here’s my question-
I have degassed every day and I’m ready to rack into secondary. When I strain the pulp out, do I toss it or keep it? The recipe says,

“After seven days have passed, strain the liquid through a nylon sieve into another container. Carefully rinse primary vessel and put the liquid back in it.

Add the remaining half of the sugar, stirring well to combine.

Transfer liquid to one of the secondary containers with at least 3 inches of headroom.

Put in the airlock.

After three to four weeks, rack (siphon) liquid into a clean secondary vessel and seal with airlock. Leave behind sediment/sludge that has settled at the bottom of the first secondary vessel.

Rack every month until the wine is ready to be bottled, or about three months.”

Second question-
I did not wash the persimmons. I pulled the stems and cut the seeds out, then threw the fruit in my food processor. I figured the Campden tablets would kill anything I didn’t want and didn’t want to risk damaging the fruit (losing juice or pulp) or using baking soda or a mild cleaner on them. The persimmons came from a commercial farm and seemed to have been picked with no dirt or mud on them. Did I goof up here?
 
When you strain your pulp, you're done with it. Theoretically the yeast has eaten all of the sugars, and the only benefit of leaving it in would be for tannins, but you might get a bitter flavor from seeds /skins or the fruits that is undesirable.

As to washing the fruits, the only risk is if they had some kind of pesticide on them. But you're probably ok as long as you rinsed them.

I'm firmly in the camp of less racking is better. Fewer instances to introduce contamination, less waste product, and less work. Rack once to get off the fruit, rack again when your SG is around 1.020, rack after aging.
 
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