Welch's Grape Juice Wine

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so I just checked my two 1G batches, my concord/red is <1.000 (a bit but not allot) and my white is 1.030 :O !!! that's weird eh? now I know I think it was the one that had the "extra nasties" in it though...started them both the same time, say roughly Feb 25th. this was my first reading since moving them from the primary to the glass 1G carboys...I'll check them again on wednesday. I'm hoping my white is dropping, just maybe slowly... :(...also, lots and lots of little bubbles rising to the top as well...I'm trying to get it degassed as much as possible, but perhaps they are still working...any help would be great...
 
hey Yooper, wondering if you can let me know your thoughts on my first two batches please and thanks?
 
Yooper said:
The red sounds fine, hopefully the wine keeps going. If not, you may have to add more yeast and make a yeast starter to get it going.
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ok, sounds good thanks for the help once again my lady...oh, and soo sorry about the wings :( ...... as a tried and true leafs fan, I'll share with you our motto...."there's always next year"...hahaha...

I worked in Detroit for a few years off and on and I got to see a couple Red Wings games, and I saw a michigan-michigan state game there from a box too, very nice place to watch a game....from what I remember, LOL...
 
are there any drawbacks from using yeast energizer? i added 1tsp grape tannin, 1tsp yeast energizer and 5 tsp yeast neutrient to my 5 gal batch. i havn't seen a froth on a wine so crazy after a week of fermentation and it shows no sign of stopping yet :)
 
Just wanted to say thanks. I have had nothing but good things said about this as more of a sweet wine. I tweaked the ingredients and have started a few experiments. Using white and concord mixes at different levels. What are you guys getting for your OG normally? I tried super hard to get it to 1.100 once but in a 5 gallon batch of 10 juice contained and 8 lbs of sugar I got up to 1.080 and just couldn't bring myself to add anything more. All in all as a summer wine this one is my favourite, and super cheap which also helps haha so thanks.

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I have followed Yopper's recipe with Welch's white grape juice concentrate. This coming Sunday it will reach 28 days. The bubbling seems to be only say 40% of the peak (happened some 2-3 days after I added some DAP yeast energizer). Should I wait longer so that the bubbling falls to barely existent, or should I transfer to the secondary after 30 days as Yopper's recipe calls for?
 
edmanster said:
are there any drawbacks from using yeast energizer? i added 1tsp grape tannin, 1tsp yeast energizer and 5 tsp yeast neutrient to my 5 gal batch. i havn't seen a froth on a wine so crazy after a week of fermentation and it shows no sign of stopping yet :)
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I had an identical experience having added the energizer a week after starting the fermentation with just yeast, juice, sugar and water :drunk:
 
Jajosk said:
I had an identical experience having added the energizer a week after starting the fermentation with just yeast, juice, sugar and water :drunk:
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I added mine at the start.. They were going very strong for 8 days and then stopped quick.. They're done and completely dry and clearing up beautifully.. Don't think I will need anything to help them clear, idk maybe a little cold crash at kegging.. :mug:
 
Jajosk said:
I have followed Yopper's recipe with Welch's white grape juice concentrate. This coming Sunday it will reach 28 days. The bubbling seems to be only say 40% of the peak (happened some 2-3 days after I added some DAP yeast energizer). Should I wait longer so that the bubbling falls to barely existent, or should I transfer to the secondary after 30 days as Yopper's recipe calls for?
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It doesn't call for putting in the secondary in 30 days- it calls for it to happen at about day 5. Then it's racked when it's clear, and again if needed in about 30 days.
 
Yooper said:
It doesn't call for putting in the secondary in 30 days- it calls for it to happen at about day 5. Then it's racked when it's clear, and again if needed in about 30 days.
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Thanks for responding. I was going by the recipe you put up on Page 1 of this thread -
"Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 30
Additional Fermentation: Rack until clear
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 30"

The 5 day mark is not mentioned anywhere. I interpreted the idea above as - the wine should be allowed to remain in the same storage in which the juice, sugar, yeast, and energizer was added for 30 days or until clear, whichever is longer. It should then be racked to another storage, and kept there for 30 days, and then bottled. What am I getting wrong? :eek:
 
It should be going into secondary at day 5?... Or when it's clear? I'm confused now. The instructions say when active fermentation slows down (around day 5) fit airlock, then rack when its clear. Is this correct? I'm on day 3 now.
 
Rubes said:
It should be going into secondary at day 5?... Or when it's clear? I'm confused now. The instructions say when active fermentation slows down (around day 5) fit airlock, then rack when its clear. Is this correct? I'm on day 3 now.
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correct, i've left mine in primary for a month before switching to the secondary. and i usually fit the airlock on day 3 or 4
 
Rubes said:
It should be going into secondary at day 5?... Or when it's clear? I'm confused now. The instructions say when active fermentation slows down (around day 5) fit airlock, then rack when its clear. Is this correct? I'm on day 3 now.
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Yes, I consider airlocking it to be secondary, but it can stay in the same vessel. Once it's completely done, and clear, it can be racked off of the lees and topped up. Then I rack only when lees are 1/4" thick, or after 45-60 days or so. This wine clears quickly and easily, and usually one racking does the job until it's time to bottle.
 
Just took my sg after 2 months of brewing. 1.020. What's going on here? It has cleared, almost completely. It is now a rosy pink, definitely more of a blush.

Should I pitch more yeast? Or just add my favorite bottle of vodka and call it done?
 
I just finished my first batch of this wine. Before tasting it, I went out and bought some concord grape wine from my local liquor store to see what it was "supposed" to taste like. Well, that was a mistake, it was sickeningly sweet and we were only able to drink about half of it. As such, I was a little nervous, but my wine tasted delightfully crisp, just like a decent table wine should. Don't think I'll be backsweetening this one.
The grapes must have been a little sugary this year, because my OG was 1.100, and Montrachet yeast managed to chew that all the way down to 0.99...14.3% ABV! Not bad for $1 a (750ml) bottle!
 
With 500 posts on this thread I figured I need to try this. I made 3 gallons on the 1st and I am pretty excited to try this in the upcoming months.
 
I have a quick question .... I was going to bottle this recipe this weekend and I have been ageing this in secondary for quite some time ie. 3 months. overall it has been close to 4 months. I was curious if I could just bottle as is without stabilizer, I understand if I got his route I cannot backsweeten it. Or, do I need to stabilize regardless of sweetening before I bottle.
 
Aschecte said:
I have a quick question .... I was going to bottle this recipe this weekend and I have been ageing this in secondary for quite some time ie. 3 months. overall it has been close to 4 months. I was curious if I could just bottle as is without stabilizer, I understand if I got his route I cannot backsweeten it. Or, do I need to stabilize regardless of sweetening before I bottle.
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no need to stabilize unless backsweetening.. if you dont plan on sweetening I would do some/all with carbonation :)
 
I made a 5 gallon batch except I started with a SG of 1.10. When it was finished I backsweetened with 2 cans more of concentrate and additional sugar to get me to 1.01 SG. At 6 months of age, it is really turning out to be 1 of my favorite wine.
 
I'm just curious what most folks are doing when their batches are finished...sweetening or not sweetening this recipe?...just finished my first two (one white & one concord).
 
I did a 2 gallon batch back in January and due to a few things, life, laziness, forgetfulness, it's still in the bucket. Haven't peaked at it since I pitched the yeast about 6 months ago.....

I was thinking about opening it up tonight and seeing what's up, curious if it held or if I have a bucket of fuzz... hmmm...........
 
First - thanks to all who share their pointers (and learning moments) with the rest of us. I made a couple of batches of the Welch's wine when the obsession first began. A fine wine it is not. However, I've used the sparkling / carbonated (white) grape water (about $1 per liter from Wally World). Mixed about one ounce water to 4 oz wine, and VIOLA! I've made several wine kits as well as several batches of the famed Apfelwein, but folks declare this mixture hands down the best wine I've made. Don't know if that's a knock on my ability to follow wine kit instructions, or the power of the innocuous sparkling grape water. Just FWIW in the event you want to add something 'extra' to sweeten the wine. You don't have to worry about carbonation or killing the yeast either, as this takes care of sweetening and adding a bit of bubbles at the same time.

Thanks again for all who share and assist us newbies. :rockin:
 
I made this recipe using Welches white grape peach concentrate. It's been in secondary for several months, and I just racked it for what I thought would be the final time. When I tasted it, though, it was very hot and had a flavor that I would describe as brown sugar.
Any thoughts on this?
 
AudaciousAlechemist said:
I made this recipe using Welches white grape peach concentrate. It's been in secondary for several months, and I just racked it for what I thought would be the final time. When I tasted it, though, it was very hot and had a flavor that I would describe as brown sugar.
Any thoughts on this?
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Do you have your OG, FG, fermentation temperature, and type of yeast? I suspect stressed yeast, probably from a high ferm. temperature, but possibly from high alcohol.
 
ButterDonkey said:
What are you guys getting for your OG normally? I tried super hard to get it to 1.100 once but in a 5 gallon batch of 10 juice contained and 8 lbs of sugar I got up to 1.080 and just couldn't bring myself to add anything more.
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My OG was 1.084 in a 3 gallon batch. I took a reading today and it dropped to 1.011 after 5 weeks. It tastes really good in the semisweet range so I may bottle soon and pitch a new batch on my yeast cake.
 
props ta yoop! tried my raspberry apple tonight and it's delicious.. didn't add the acid blend thinking the raspberry was tart enough and it turned out beautifully.. very cloying on the effects because I'm done after 1 12oz bottle and it's my friday tonight... I can only see the taste improving with a little more time.. I'm 4 months in and it's good but think it's gonna be great in another 4, if it lasts that long that is. :mug:
 
Not completely sure where to post this question but this was the best place I could find without spending hours searching the site. On a random bored night I stumbled upon a youtube video of a college student making "homemade booze" All he used was a 2L jug of generic fruit juice, 3 cups of sugar, and 20g of brewers yeast. Tossed on an airlock and in 3 days had drinkable alcohol. I then did a few hours of google research (learned an amazing amount of stuff about yeast) and realized that a basic alcohol is really just sugar, water and yeast with/or with out any additional flavoring. I found lots of people even making low grade alcohol with plain old bread yeast. Being a fairly cheap and resourceful individual I thought I would give it a go. I have a few batches fermenting right now ( 7 to be exact). I think the first 3 will be a big fail because at the time all I had was bread yeast and table sugar. The next 4 I tried consisted of frozen juice concentrate, dextrose, brewers yeast and water. I guess in the end my question is has any else ever made anything like this? If so, any tips trick and recipes would be awsome :) thanks
 
jimbobminogue said:
Not completely sure where to post this question but this was the best place I could find without spending hours searching the site. On a random bored night I stumbled upon a youtube video of a college student making "homemade booze" All he used was a 2L jug of generic fruit juice, 3 cups of sugar, and 20g of brewers yeast. Tossed on an airlock and in 3 days had drinkable alcohol. I then did a few hours of google research (learned an amazing amount of stuff about yeast) and realized that a basic alcohol is really just sugar, water and yeast with/or with out any additional flavoring. I found lots of people even making low grade alcohol with plain old bread yeast. Being a fairly cheap and resourceful individual I thought I would give it a go. I have a few batches fermenting right now ( 7 to be exact). I think the first 3 will be a big fail because at the time all I had was bread yeast and table sugar. The next 4 I tried consisted of frozen juice concentrate, dextrose, brewers yeast and water. I guess in the end my question is has any else ever made anything like this? If so, any tips trick and recipes would be awsome :) thanks
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Hell yeah, that was the first kind of alcohol I ever made. Maybe I even saw that same college kid on youtube making booze. But yeah, my first was water, sugar, bread yeast. Tasted horrible, mixed it with lemonade mix and still tasted horrible, but I still drank it. It was really cool to me, being 18 at the time: The whole balloon expanding, the novelty of making alcohol, and the best was hiding the stuff under my sink from my parents lol.

But now I'm 23, I can get alcohol, but I think it's more fun to make it and show off to friends.
 
A50SNAKE said:
I'm just curious what most folks are doing when their batches are finished...sweetening or not sweetening this recipe?...just finished my first two (one white & one concord).
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I find that the red just doesn't have a lot of body when it's done fermenting. My yeast usually chew it down to 0.990, and by then it is clearly wine, but thin-tasting. I've been adding one tsp/gal of acid blend to bring up the tartness and make it taste less thin, but then the predominant flavor is "tart". I've found that including the acid blend to keep the tartness, but backsweetening slightly (to 1.000 for me) brings out the fruitiness of the Concord and balances the tartness nicely.

My clarity still isn't very good, though; I might have to start adding bentonite and the like. Time to start another batch...
 
I just made this (one gallon batch) and only using the 100% Welch's grape juice and the juice by its self had a OG of 1.062. It only took 7oz of sugar to get a OG of 1.088-1.090 (the juice foamed up a little and I couldn't quit tell). So just a warning if you use the straight juice a whole 1.25lbs of sugar might be to much. Also since I am not using the pectin enzyme I just added the yeast right away and I added it dry (Red Star Champagne Yeast) this should be ok right? Thanks.
 
I got a another question since this is my first wine ever. I took a hydro reading this morning to see if any fermentation took place and I guess the sugar wasn't dissolved last night when I took my first reading of 1.088. It is now sitting at 1.100. There where a lot of bubbles in the hydro sample but is it normal for the reading to go up like that or did I just make rocket fuel on accident by not dissolving the sugar all the way and adding to much thanks.
 
Ply318ci said:
I got a another question since this is my first wine ever. I took a hydro reading this morning to see if any fermentation took place and I guess the sugar wasn't dissolved last night when I took my first reading of 1.088. It is now sitting at 1.100. There where a lot of bubbles in the hydro sample but is it normal for the reading to go up like that or did I just make rocket fuel on accident by not dissolving the sugar all the way and adding to much thanks.
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Well i cannot tell you if you made rocket fuel but, I can tell you it is important in the future to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. Not for anything more than to get proper readings etc... the yeast once fermentation is in full swing will take care of mixing it up really good but now your readings are off. I would reccomend if you have software like beersmith or promash to enter the recipe in it with the ingredients and quantities you used and see what it tells you for your OG and assume it is pretty darn close. You can also then calculate your FG based on your yeast attenuation and if you used a champagne yeast it will probably finish at .998 or so. If you don' have software let me know and I'll be happy to input it for you and let you know what to roughly expect.
 
That helps a lot I have beer smith but I am not sure how to use it with grape juice. I have 3L of grape juice at 1.062 and 7oz of sugar if that will help. Thanks again. I can add water to dilute it down of that will help. I miss typed last post the new gravity was 1.110 not 1.100 thanks.
 
that actually seems awful high according to beersmith 3 liters or 6.75 lbs of grape juice with only 7 oz of dextrose should only be around 1.060 so your original reading was much closer to what I am seeing on beersmith. Maybe someone else might be able to chime in on this one.
 

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