Why "Punch Down A Cap" When I Would Think Stirring Would Be Better?

[critterhunter]

I keep reading about "punching down a cap" and keep wondering why in the heck you wouldn't just stir the cr*p out of your primary bucket twice a day. That's what I did with my pear wine using no bag, I just stirred it like crazy a few times a day. Seems to me that would extract more juice than just dunking the fruit.

 

[winemaker_3352]

When punching down the cap you also want to gently stir the must around to some O2 in there. Punching down the cap keeps the skins from molding or growing bacteria on it.

 

[critterhunter]

Still wondering- Why wouldn't just stirring the crap out of the thing be just as good? I don't see how pushing it down would offer any less risk of mold/etc. After all, when it's stirred up all that stuff gets pushed down in the juice anyway?

 

[winemaker_3352]

Stirring it violently might release too many tannins.

 

[JohnT]

Still wondering- Why wouldn't just stirring the crap out of the thing be just as good? I don't see how pushing it down would offer any less risk of mold/etc. After all, when it's stirred up all that stuff gets pushed down in the juice anyway?

I have my wine sitting in vats that are several hundred liters... This is too big of a batch to do a "stir".

 

[grapeman]

I don't see why stirring it good wouldn't suffice with a non-grape batch. Grape skins float and stirring just doesn't get them submerged. What fruit are you using?