Cellar Craft 5wk cab sav cellar craft questions

[fish]

hello winers.
i am making a cellar craft 23 litre cab sav, i asked questions long time back about adding extras but a bit confused with answers, they were good but lack of knowledge on my behalf..., i wanted to add some rasberries and blueberries and maybe raisins. there was a comment sayin i should not add blueberries to first ferment as it might hinder it, so when should i do it and what does f-pac mean,???. i started 5 days ago, things are bubbling nicely. i added 125 grams of rasberries at the start straight in to the must, when exactly will i add the blueberries??, can i also add raisins or is it too much stuff??? will the little amount of rasberries i added do anything?? do i need to wait longer for fermenting when im adding things???
thanks alot people , without this forum i would be lost.
fish.
sydney

 

[Torch404]

When you start throwing things into a kit, especially if you are not familiar with making that particular kit, it can cause problems. Have you made it before? Kit's are designed to work a certain way and each "tweek" can interrupt the process and send the wine off course. I'd be extra wary about changing it up while it's already fermenting.

You added too little fruit to really add flavor, a raspberry wine uses about 6lb per gallon. This also means that it is less likely to cause problems. At this point I'd say follow through with your kit instructions. Skip any part about sweetening it after stabling.

Then you can make an F-pac, which can be just juice the flavors you want to add mixed together. You can also simmer down the juice and add a more concentrated flavor. You can also add sugar to both if you need further sweetening.

 

[fish]

i would like to add blueberries, what is the best way, do i need to peel the skin off or do i need to mash them up or what?? is it too late to add raisins??
i am a week in to first ferment??

 

[Wade E]

Raisisn should be added at the beginning if yur trying to get more body but being this is a Cabernet wine I dought its really lacking much in this area. Adding Blueberries and raisins can cause problems sometimes, blueberries have natural Benzoate in them which can hinder a fermentation and is why when making a blueberry wine you should make a starter yeast and not just pitch dry or rehydrate the yeast. Raisins usually hve oil on them or even worse especially if they are the golden raisins will be sulfited to protect the color and the sulfites can hinder the fermentation. You can add both up front just beware of these problems and be prepared to possibly deal with these hinderances.