real quick question about freezing blueberries

[TimTheWiner]

So I just got back from an 1.5 hrs of picking fresh local blueberries. I got 40 lbs (making one 6 gallon blueberry wine, and want to make one mixes with pear or something). Anyhow, this is my first "real" wine (not a kit), and I know I need to freeze the blueberries first. My question is should I wash/rinse them prior to freezing them, or should I just freeze them as is first and then wash them after they thaw before starting the batch?? I am not even sure how it will be started, if I will be mashing them in a cheesecloth bag in the primary fermenter or using a steaming pot to get the juice? Thank you!!!

 

[dralarms]

You do not HAVE to freeze them. I take a potato masher to mine.

 

[TimTheWiner]

I'm sure it isn't necessary but from what I understand if frozen it breaks down the cellular wall or something like that and provides more/easier juice extraction after thawing. The big question is if I need to rinse/dry them now, or later. Plus I won't be using half of these for st least another month.

 

[FTC Wines]

If freezing I would rinse first then freeze, don't see a need to dry. They will be a little mushy when they come out of the freezer in a bag, so you would lose some juice if you rinse then. We rinse/dry freeze on a tray then bag for pancakes etc. but not wine. Also I never freeze my blueberries for making wine, not enough space in the freezer & never saw the need. Roy

 

[Julie]

While there isn't a need to freeze fruit, you can make wine from fresh fruit BUT freezing helps break down the fruit and therefore gives you more juice. It is like getting a bigger bang for your buck. Wash them off first, then freeze, this way when taking them out of the freezer you can just place them in the primary bucket or a bag that goes into your primary bucket and let them defrost. While they defrost, they will start to release their juice. If you try to wash them after freezing I would think you would lose some juice.,

Also, how many pounds were you thinking of using for your 6 gallon of wine? I'm thinking 30# to 36#. This doesn't leave much in the way for your pear/blueberry wine

 

[BobF]

Washing frozen berries is impossible. If you try to wash them right away, even if they're loose in the bag, they'll quickly create a frozen block. If you them thaw first, you'll wash away a ton of the juice.

I rinse all of my berries, let them drain for a while, then bag and toss in the freezer.

If I have sufficient quantities, I also weigh the bags and mark the weight on them.

 

[TimTheWiner]

Well wish I read this before I bagged. Is it 100% necessary to rinse?? I wanted to get the cold/frozen as quickly as possible so I just went through all 40 lb by hand and removed any small, dry, or dirty ones then didn't wash and put in 1 gallon freezer bags at close to 3 lb each. The berry patch owner said he doesn't spray them at all unless they begin flowering (which they hadn't) so I am hoping I'm ok.

My dad offered me a used chest freezer for $60 about 8 months ago (before all this winemaking). Now I'm wishing I had taken it.

 

[TimTheWiner]

Also, how many pounds were you thinking of using for your 6 gallon of wine? I'm thinking 30# to 36#. This doesn't leave much in the way for your pear/blueberry wine

I have looked at 3 or 4 recipes so far and it seems most call for 2.5-3 lb per gallon, so I figured on 3/gallon average.

 

[TimTheWiner]

Btw (off subject) any reason why I not able to view the Recipes forum on mobile app. Do I need to upgrade my forum membership or something??

 

[saramc]

Should I have rinsed my fruit before freezing?

Well wish I read this before I bagged. Is it 100% necessary to rinse??

WELL...while the fruit has not been sprayed with chemicals there is the high likelihood that there may be animal "matter" on some of your berries, not to mention other residual things (exhaust chemicals from tractors, pollution, etc.) I know people eat fresh picked, unwashed fruit every day so I am quite sure there will be those that say "no problem" and others that say "uh, yes you should have rinsed your fruit". Fresh items should ALWAYS be rinsed prior to use for consumption, and that includes freezing.

 

[BobF]

I wonder how grapes get washed/rinsed on their way to becoming wine?

 

[TimTheWiner]

It just stinks because I KNEW they should've been rinsed but I figured it would take hours to fully dry them, and I really don't want to rinse after thawing since that's a majority of the reason I froze in the first place to maximize juice extraction.

 

[TimTheWiner]

Update: called my wife from work and she said they had not frozen yet, do had her put em fridge and will rinse and freeze when I get home. Can't imagine a little ice in between will hurt much

 

[marly]

i made 30 gls of blueberry wine last year,never washed any before or after freezing them and i used 40 -45 pounds for a six gallon batch.it turned out great!

 

[gaudet]

Shockwave,

I made blueberry wine and mead. Have only done a few batches. Maybe 24 gallons between the two. I get mine from an organic grower. It's a personal choice to wash or not. I did not wash any of them. I froze them. Then juice them with my steam juicer. Never had any off tastes or worries about it. The steamer sterilizes the berries and the juice. Happy wining.

 

[TimTheWiner]

That was one of my other big questions is if I should invest in a steaming pot, or just mash em up and pour in a bag in the primary fermenter, seems like I would need a few mesh bags though.

 

[gaudet]

Steaming has been good for me. I think I paid about $120 for my juicer. If you can the juice it will last a long time. It takes up less space then keeping it in your freezer. It will also alter the flavor of your fruit. But no more than if you were going to simmer it to aid in juice extraction. I've not worked with fresh pressed juice, but hope to try my hand with my muscadines this year if I have enough. Not sure how I'm going to press it since I don't have a fruit press, yet!

 

[gordini]

If the fruit is clean and well within the withholding period if sprayed, you don't really need to wash the fruit. Commercial grape picking is not the cleanest after all. I would gently mash, or crush them and use a strong pectic enzyme. Importantly, I would use 60ppm SO2. That is around 2 grams in 20 litres of juice/pulp, let sit for a few days and then innoculate with yeast.

 

[gaudet]

That was one of my other big questions is if I should invest in a steaming pot, or just mash em up and pour in a bag in the primary fermenter, seems like I would need a few mesh bags though.

when you use a steam juicer, the spent pulp/skins can be collected (and frozen for later use) to use in the fermenter. Make sure to put it in a sanitized mesh bag. You can use the larger mesh bags for beer making that are washable. The pulp does get quite dense.

I haven't used it in my ferments, but I think if you wanted a better color extraction it would be the way to go.

 

[jswordy]

I wouldn't stress over rinsing blueberries much. Rinsing isn't going to get rid of much pesticides except those on the outside. "Animal matter" is not going to be a problem after alcohol kills any pathogens. Can't see why folks obsess over rinsing blueberries then eat mushrooms on their salad that come straight from the "animal matter" to their bowl.

Lots of ways to juice them. I freeze, thaw, mash them up by squeezing the freezer bag, then dump them in the must. I strain through a mesh bag prior to filling carboys for the secondary. It's cheap and efficient. If you have a press you can get even more out of them.

Using 3 pounds/gallon produces a medium bodied wine.

Too bad this year the drought here has kept any blueberries from becoming available. Still hoping to pick some, but so far, no good.