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Would the very small amount of oil that is added to store raisins cause a problem with basic wine recipes?

I was going to make a Strawberry + Raisin recipe but noticed that all the available raisins in ASDA have vegetable oil in the ingredients.

I was thinking, after steeping the strawberries and raisins in hot water the oil should float and could be skimmed off, before adding the yeast.

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I've never had a problem with it (come to think of it, I've never bothered to check if my raisins were processed with oil).

I would not advise pre-boiling the raisins (or the strawberries!) as you are probably going to lose a signficant amount of tannins and other compounds that are desirable in your wine. That's why you use them after all. If you are concerned about infection or wild yeasts you can use campden tablets 12-24 hours prior to pitching. In my experience, though, all that's necessary is covering the fruit with boiling water, let it steep and cool for 12 hours or so (adding pectic enzyme if necessary), then strain and pitch.

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  • can you confirm that tannins are volatile. I didn't think boiling them would make much difference, compared to steeping. I think the bigger risk is the tannins leaching out into the water, so I would pitch that if possible, using campden tablets to keep sanitary.
    – mdma
    Jul 10, 2012 at 19:28
  • In winemaking, tannins are good. They give complexity and mouthfeel. I may have misread OP, I was thinking he was pre-boiling the raisins and throwing away the water (adding the raisins afterward) which would leech out not only tannins but nutrients needed by the yeast in most country wine recipes.
    – bk0
    Jul 10, 2012 at 21:56
  • I misread your answer - for some reason I read 'strain' as throwing away the water, but if course you mean keep the water and throw away the fruit.
    – mdma
    Jul 10, 2012 at 23:35

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