Fermentation Bag Question

[Nate_1971]

Hi All,

I'm relatively new to wine making. I've had great luck with the few kits I've made, and decided it's time to make a fruit wine. I plan to make Cherry wine from a recipe posted on a popular wine making site. The recipe states to "Collect any pulp in a fermentation bag and submerge the bag into the wine making mixture."

I assume this means that I should be slicing the cherries or slightly mashing them to break the skin, and then putting all remaining solids in a fermentation bag, and juices into my primary fermenter. Is this correct?

Thanks - Nate

 

[dralarms]

I’d pit them, freeze them, and then start from there. But yes all solids go in a mesh bag.

 

[Nate_1971]

Thanks dralarms - I am starting with 20lbs frozen pitted cherries. I've also read not to "over process", so is it safe to simply smash them a bit, or do I need more of a pulp by chopping or blending?

 

[dralarms]

Just mash them a bit. Add pectic enzyme to aid in the breakdown of the fruit.

 

[Nate_1971]

Once again, thank you for the reassurance! Looking forward to getting started in the morning.

 

[dralarms]

It’s a fun hobby but if you get your carboy wet it will multiply.

 

[Nate_1971]

Update: I’m about 4 weeks into the cherry wine. There have been a few hiccups but I think it’ll all come together in the end.

When in the 5 gallon primary during week 1, I was getting a lot of foam, requiring daily towel changes for the fermenter. It was a mess, but I muscled through. I then racked to a 6 gallon secondary at the end of week one to allow more headroom during secondary fermentation.

At week 3 sg was .998 so I added chitosan, kieselsol, sorbate and campden tabs. It’s now been settling in a 5 gal carboy for about a week.

I’m a bit concerned about how dark the wine looks. I’ve never done cherry. I’m used to being able to see through my reds when settling. This almost looks black but the aromas seem pleasant. Any thoughts?

 

[Rice_Guy]

Update: I’m about 4 weeks into the cherry wine.
I’m a bit concerned about how dark the wine looks. I’ve never done cherry. I’m used to being able to see through my reds when settling. This almost looks black but the aromas seem pleasant. Any thoughts?

* it will look lighter in a glass , yeah the carboy can be dark, I back light when I work on the carboy, the pigment isn’t stable to sulphate next year you could add sulphide directly to the frozen fruit before adding any water, , , if you want real dark try mulberry
* in general more color means more solids and more flavor, , expect that down the road higher solids means a higher TA on the wine and you will backsweeten to a higher level. This glass calculated out to 32grams sugar per bottle.