Why stir only the top half of the MUST?

[Bramble]

First 5 days after pitching...

Not sure I really need to ask, but the instructions I was reading advised to stir only the top half of the must,
and this sounded wierd to me, so I thought Id ask.
Any reason not to stir the whole thing?

After some reflection, it seems that they were saying the fruit pulp rises to the top and needs to be submerged twice a day... perhaps to allow better O2 access and to allow the pulp to be worked upon and contribute more to the wine.

The must sure has a "cap" and it is one that does not really stir down; it is still there when I finish stirring.
Why stir at all? With beer, caps are good.
Any reason to stir only the top?

Any reason not to stir the whole thing?

 

[cmason1957]

Stir the whole thing. You do need to make sure any fruit gets submerged. But other than that, just make sure to stir it all up.

 

[Donatelo]

I always use a nylon bag for my fruit . That way you can lift the bag and give it a squeeze , then place it back and push it down into the must.

 

[Venatorscribe]

I always use a nylon bag for my fruit . That way you can lift the bag and give it a squeeze , then place it back and push it down into the must.

Same here. Also makes for an easier clean up. There are some really large nylon bags out there if people are working with big quantities.

 

[Scooter68]

The idea is to keep the fruit pulp immersed as much as possible to help it break down and extract all the flavor and sugar in it.