Should I Use The Juice Or The Pulp?

Hello-
I’ve never made wine; but, I’m slowly acquiring the wine making materials. I would like to make fruit wines mostly plum and perhaps strawberry and peach.
From what I’ve been reading it seems that either one starts with juice and does the whole fermentation process that way or that one ferments the chopped up raw fruit contained in a bag for a week or so and then continues the fermentation process in a different container less the pulp.
My question is:  Will the wine be better tasting if one ferments the pulp of raw fruit or will it be better tasting if one extracts the juice of the raw fruit first presumably by cooking with a and straining or by using a steam juicer?
Thank you.
Joe
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Hello Joe,
When making wine with your own fruit, to achieve optimal flavor, color and body, we recommend fermenting with the pulp and skin. This is what provides most of the color and body. You can use a steam juicer to extract the juice, but you should still keep the pulp in with the fermentation for the first 5 to 7 days.
The only argument for leaving the skin and pulp out of the fermentation would be if you are trying to achieve a light-bodied wine. An example of this would be apple wine.
This is no different than how professional wineries approach making wine. In general, with red grapes they run them through the grape crusher then ferment them before running them through the grape presses. With white grapes, they crush and press before fermenting.
Best Wishes,
Customer Service at Adventures in Homebrewing
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.