Leaving fruit in fermenting wine....?

[yetijunk]

About three weeks ago I began a 4 gallon batch of strawberry wine using 25lbs of strawberries, two lbs of turbinado cane sugar, peptic enzyme, Lalvins 1116, and yeast nutrient with several gallons of distilled water to make up the difference of 4 gallons...... I was told by the owner of a local home brew shop that with the use of peptic enzyme I would not have to filter the left over chunks of strawberry after mashing...... I am curious if this works however, because while my wine has a great strawberry aroma, no sign of infection and great color, there is an "off" taste which resembles decomposing fruit--- as if the strawberries crapped out more than just juice..

Does not filtering the strawberries from the must until the first racking explain this taste?? or is it infection or something else???

 

[Honda88]

most people use a strainer bag and after primary fermentation is complete the bag is removed only leaving seeds and small pieces of pulp. I wouldn't worry too much about it though because you haven't racked it yet or anything. If is smells like rotten eggs you may have a problem but if it just smells like fermented fruit i wouldn't worry. You will need to rack it a couple times before determining if you have a problem.

 

[yetijunk]

well I have actually racked it once, however there is no rotten eggs smell..... it tastes fine justs smells odd.... ill give it another week before i rack it again then see how it smells then.....

 

[Honda88]

sounds good it probably just has pulp in it. It needs to be clear before you make a final judgment....

 

[yetijunk]

I appreciate it thank you!

 

[DoctorCAD]

You need a better LHBS.

Rotten fruit stinks and he wants you to leave your wine on rotten fruit????

 

[Yooper]

You need a better LHBS.

Rotten fruit stinks and he wants you to leave your wine on rotten fruit????

That's what I was thinking! I normally ferment on fruit 5 days or thereabouts, as the fruit breaks down and rots fairly quickly.

It's easiest to use a bag (or leave the fruit in bigger chunks), and then remove the bag or rack at about day 5. Rotten fruit won't taste good. Think of it this way- if you wouldn't eat it, don't ferment it or keep it in your wine.

 

[ICWiener]

I normally ferment on fruit 5 days or thereabouts, as the fruit breaks down and rots fairly quickly.

I'm not a wine maker, so bear with me...but how is that so? Doesn't the alcohol prevent it from rotting? I make cider quite often and have left it to age on fruit for well over a month with seemingly no ill effects. Heck, lambic makers will leave beer on cherries and raspberries for 6 months to a year as standard practice.

 

[yetijunk]

It's not like it's rotting, just has a wierd "off" smell..... Don't know how to explain it.... I may just need to rack it again

 

[Honda88]

not all of the fruit is turned into alcohol so essentially what you have is decomposing organic matter. Wine does not have a high enough alcohol content to actually prevent the fruit from breaking down. Lambic beer recipes are designed with the use of bacteria in mind. Wine does not benefit from things like this.(except MLF)

 

[ICWiener]

not all of the fruit is turned into alcohol so essentially what you have is decomposing organic matter. Wine does not have a high enough alcohol content to actually prevent the fruit from breaking down. Lambic beer recipes are designed with the use of bacteria in mind.

But even if the fruit isn't entirely turned into alcohol, it's still surrounded by it. Wouldn't that alcohol (even at wine levels) serve as a preservative, preventing the fruit from decaying?

 

[Honda88]

it will slow the decay but it won't prevent it from happening. Liquor will prevent decay but wine doesn't have enough alcohol by volume to preserve fruit.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Just curious here, but what's the difference between something like this, and something like JAOM which can take several months? I leave my fruit in the whole time. Is that bad practice or is there something different at work?

 

[yetijunk]

Yeah Honda is right..... It's almost as though the fruit cells crap out more than just juice as their membranes and cell components break down over time. The last batch of strawberry I made didn't have this problem. Most likely because I strained out the berries from my must after soaking them in the presence of peptic enzyme for a day.