using wild fruits-contamination

[Fran365]

Past summer I picked about 4 pounds of black mulberry fruit off the ground.The flavor was very rich but the fruit needed careful inspecting and rinsing. This batch was frozen and I am wondering if slight simmering would be better in some cases then a pre-pitch Campden treatment or both.. Fran

 

[meadmaker1]

Im left wondering if a slight simmer is enough, and boiling is said to cause a difficult to remove haze.

 

[Fran365]

Thanks Meadmaker1, didn't know that.Thinking I could sack it, crush it in the primary, add some concord juice and water and set overnight with the Camden tabs and proceed normally . If this tree gives fruit next year I'll set out nets early and check daily, to get a better quality of fruits. Fran

 

[Scooter68]

The key is what are you trying to accomplish? Sanitizing the fruit is all you really need to do. Trying to sterilize it will probably do more harm to the fruit than good. Anytime you heat up fruits for an extended period time you run the risk of losing some or most of the volatile components in that fruit. Odors, 'essences' tend to evaporate when heated and the longer you heat them the more you are likely to use. This would be worrisome if you do an extended heating of the fruit to kill off bacteria.

Certainly jam, jelly, preserves make extended use of heat to concentrate the fruit but that's part of it, you are reducing the water content of the fruit. So with that relatively large quantity of fruit, some loss of smells and volatile essences can be tolerated. (How often do we sit and smell a jar of preserves, jam, jelly?) With wine the fragrance and the volatile element of the fruit are part of that delicate balance we try to achieve to capture if you will in the wine.

Also, the wine making process is a sort of self sanitizing action. The Campden tablets are used to kill off or reduce the activity of wild yeasts as well as the majority of the bacteria and mold. Once the fermentation has completed the alcohol level along with the acidity of the wine tends to prevent most bacteria from getting established and infecting your wine.

 

[Fran365]

thanks Skooter68, a useful look at the subject. I am 1 year and 10 batches into this art of winemaking and this is the first time I use wild fruit. Down the road will see if this very rich fruit comes through into the wine. Fran

 

[Scooter68]

thanks Skooter68, a useful look at the subject. I am 1 year and 10 batches into this art of winemaking and this is the first time I use wild fruit. Down the road will see if this very rich fruit comes through into the wine. Fran

Think you will find that wild fruit like Blackberry or Black Raspberry can give you an outstanding wine. With those two varieties in particular I've had some solid full bodied wines with right around 5 lbs /gallon of either. The big fat store bought Blackberries can't how a candle to a good wild Blackberry. Of course ours are picked from the bushes so we don't have any problem with dirt on them. I understand if you are picking fruit off the ground then that's could give you some concern.