# Mulberry stem question



## Guapo (Mar 13, 2011)

I have 17 lbs of frozen Mulberries that are thawing for a 3 gal batch of wine.
There are stems on all the berries that I really don't want to remove. I have heard that one may crush the berries with a wine press http://www.finevinewines.com/p-478-5517.aspx and not have to remove the stems. I do not have a steamer, so my question is:

Is there a better way to get the juice from the berries without having to remove the stems, or should I go ahead as planned and use the wine press? (I have heard that the stems will make the wine bitter)

Thanks in advance for your replies


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## fivebk (Mar 14, 2011)

I used whole berries on my first batch. I froze them, thawed them out, did not remove the short stems and started the batch. I can't say that I had a bitter taste in the wine at all. I do however beleive that steamed juice makes a better final product ( at least when using Mulberries ) Just my opinion whatever it's worth. My second batch I used steamed juice and only juice. It's been bulk aging about 7 months now and is better than my first batch was at 12 months.
months.

BOB


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## Kemo (Mar 14, 2011)

Definitely Steam juice. The stems have a lot of tannin in them. Good Luck! The recipe sounds good


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## Wade E (Mar 14, 2011)

Yeah, I just used the whole berry also.


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## Guapo (Mar 15, 2011)

Ok, I used a wine press and got 1-1/4 gallons of pure undiluted mulberry juice. It did a good job actually. The juice was really thick and I believe will make a fine wine. Time will tell. Thanks to everyone for your input!


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## gaudet (Mar 16, 2011)

Keep us posted Guapo. I've got last years batch aging in the carboy and awaiting bottling soon. Almost time to go start picking this years batch....


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