Help for a noob please

[lord groan]

This'll be my first attempt at winemaking, I'm about ready to pick this years redcurrant crop and intend to use them plus some of last years frozen blackberries to make a wine. however I'm unfamiliar with the sequence needed
my plan;
Put picked fruit in big saucepan, heat until simmering and all fruit has split, maybe mash it with a potato masher, add water and some sugar to get to about 1 gallon and og of 1120ish?
Add teaspoon of pectolase
Leave to sit for a while? how long should this be? to let pectolase do its thing, filter through muslin bag to remove fruit pips etc into demijohn and add yeast
Bung&airlock
Wait until finished fermenting.

The bits I'm totally in the dark about are the preparation of the fruit - does it need to simmer? does it even need to get hot, should I filter off all the bits from the juice before adding pectolase or does pectolase come in sooner or later on ?
the fermenting, clearing, racking, bottling phase isn't a problem its the 1st bit that might flummox me!
Help please
Thanks

[oldbloke]

It doesn't need to simmer: it doesn't even need heat, really. I do tend to use freshly boiled water to pour over them though coz they're always frozen - freeze all the fruit at least overnight, it breaks down the cell walls.
Mash lightly, just to break the currants open.
If you have any blackcurrants, a few ounces to the gallon impart a much more winelike quality without masking the main fruit flavour too much
Or some chopped raisins.

Here's a few versions I've done:

2013-11-07 1kg redcurrant, 496g rassies, 273g blackcurrant, 1l boiled water blasted in smoothiemachine, into bucket with Campden
2013-11-08 Ritchie's bordeaux yeast (half pack), nutrient
2013-11-10 Added 180g sugar in 500ml water
2013-11-12 Strained to demi, 1kg sugar, topped up to shoulder, pectolase
2013-12-11 racked, half Campden
2014-01-15 Racked and stabilised
2014-01-18 Bottled

2011-07-12 A little over 3lbs of redcurrants mashed with a full kettle of water. Used hand blender.
2011-07-13 Added pectolase
2011-07-15 Strained onto 3lbs sugar, warmed to dissolve, added nutrient, into demi.
Yeast rehydrated: Lalvin bourgovin RC212. Pitched. 1/2 glass tea added.
2011-09-11 Racked. Hydrometer says medium. Taste promises to be interesting
2011-10-09 Bottled (sorbate+Campden). Quite nice. Could be very nice with age. Medium-to-sweet but not weak.
Less sugar next time.
@1wk: Bit cough-linctus-y. ***too much sugar*** OK though. Probably age well.

2012-11-10 430g redcurrants, 3lb raspberries, 1/2lb strawberries, 500g sugar, Campden, 1l water
Mashed, steeped 2 days
2012-11-13 Strain onto: 500g sugar, pectolase, tea, nutrient; Yeast: GV2
2012-11-29 Racked to lose massive pulp layer, added 300g sugar in the topping up water
2013-03-06 (that date CANNOT be right!) Racked, a little bitter
2013-02-11 Bottled. Flavour and acidity OK, maybe a little thin, tannin a bit high - will mellow

[lord groan]

thanks oldbloke, very helpful

[MarkA]

I add pectolase to the pulp right at the start as it helps to get more juice out of the fruit.

[oldbloke]

I add pectolase to the pulp right at the start as it helps to get more juice out of the fruit.

Yeh, nowadays I look back at my notes from previous years and anything that needed pectolase usually gets it right at the start. You need less that way usually too.

[lord groan]

thanks guys, I've just picked 13.5lbs of redcurrants, i've got a load left in the freezer from last year along with quite a lot of blackberries, the currants are freezing now so I'll mash the lot up in the next few days with a few teaspoons of pectolase added, maybe some of the raspberries that need picking too!
Then I'll strain, add campden tablets and sort out the volume and SG, I'm thinking 2 or 3 demijohns worth at the mo, finally yeast and cross my fingers!
How long should it take for the campden tablets to clear and let the yeast work do you think?
cheers

[oldbloke]

Campden goes in when you set it to mash, to suppress wild yeasts etc. If everything was frozen you could leave it out, but it also guards against stuff that drifts in during the mash. After 24 hours it's dissipated and you can pitch the yeast.
I generally use a rule of thumb that says 3 to 4 lbs fruit per gallon, so you easily have enough for 4 demis.
A few rassies will pretty much remove the need for added acids. Blackberries just taste great so yeh bung them in too.
Or, if you have a lot of blackberries, do some redcurrant wine and some blackberry wine.

Rassies are only just starting to ripen here. Last year was massive for blackberries - still got some in the freezer - hopig for more currants and rassies this year

[lord groan]

Yup lots of fruit but after reading various comments about redcurrants not having much final flavour and making a rubbish wine, i thought maybe i'd use them to provide the bulk of the sugar content with blackberries and rassies for flavour/body. Maybe then I'd not need white sugar as well? Thus only going for 2 or 3 demijohns
Can you use too much fruit in a brew?
cheers