Using Vinegar to Clean Wine-Making Fruit

[lukebuz]

So, when cleaning about 50 lbs of pears, I soaked them in commerical distilled white vinegar and water (as I do for all my produce I eat).
Then I just had a thought - using vinegar to clean my winemaking fruit won't risk turning my wine into vinegar, will it??
Why or why not?

Cheers!

 

[WVMJ]

No it wont turn it to vinegar, its already distilled. But what it could do is linger and give your wine, especially a lite fruit like pears, a vinegar taste which is bad. You could wash off in some sulfite and citric acid wash to do an even better job cheaper than using vinegar and not have a side effect of an off taste. WVMJ

 

[lukebuz]

OK, Thanks! There would be very very little vinegar taste or smell. I used like 1 cup of vinegar in a whole sinkful of water, and the pears were drip dried before freezing. Just making sure so silly bacteria or anything like that will screw me over.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Very little vinegar taste or smell is way too much. Wash in water period. Use c tabs when you put it together.

 

[WVMJ]

Actually you are not really washing away much bacteria, more like some dirt and dust, there are plenty of bacteria left, your vinegar isnt really going to kill anything. Ooga is right, any vinegar smell is to much. We sometimes use white vinegar to clean up water spots on carboys and bottles but they get air dried for a long time before use, no organics to absorb the vinegar like your pears are doing. Sulfites and citric acid would give a much better result but even that is just knocking off the dirt. 1 contaminated pear is going to contaminate your water and spread to all the others. Of course when you crush and press them the same thing happens which is why we add KM to the pressed juice to kill the bugs in the juice where they are exposed. WVMJ

 

[lukebuz]

You got it. I'll be adding K-meta, as usual.
The vinegar was just to clean the pears. It's too late now, but I'll skip that step in the future. Just use water, or at least rinse extra well in clean water.