Fortifying and Filtering Port Wine

My Chocolate Orange Port is close to being done, according to the time
frame guidelines. Naturally, I'll take a hydrometer reading first.

Two questions:
1. is it too late to fortify with brandy? The directions with the kit didn't
specify when to add. I went on RJ Spagnols website and found that I
should have added it when I added the f-pack. Is it too late to add now?
My plan is to rack it next week so I was hoping I could still add. Would
the sugars in the brandy wreak havoc and cause refermentation?

2. I don't have the means to filter the wine which is recommended.
Instead, I expect to rack it at least once before bottling. Am I risking
"bottle bombs" from residual sugars?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

It isn't too late. You obviously want to give it time for the brandy flavor to integrate with the wine before you drink it. I fortified mine with nuetral flavored Everclear rather than brandy because I didn't want to alter the flavor of the orange chocolate.

No - you won't have bottle bombs. A lot of people have made these kits and I've never heard of exploding bottles from this kit. The sterile filtering recommendation likely came from the RJS legal department - just in case.

My understanding of these matters is still a little n00bish, but from what I've been reading lately on port, the brandy is supposed to be added during fermentation. The alcohol in the brandy jacks the ABV up to the point where the yeast stops. This is where the residual sugars in port. Adding the brandy AFTER fermenation (basically what you're doing now) would be how you would approach making a sherry.

What ABV are you shooting for after fortifying? Bottle bombs SHOULDN'T be an issue because your yeast should be dead (either from the alcohol being too high or because you've killed them off).

Thanks for your responses!!

Summersolstice:
Should I rack it tomorrow and then add brandy? How long should I let it rest before bottling? I've already added the sulphites and pot sorbate after the f-pack.

the_bird:
I understand where you're coming from as I also make beer and understand the tweaking of adding sugar in various forms to boost the alcohol. Obviously this can be done with wine, too.

Hopefully the yeast is somewhat dead due to adding pot sorbate and sulphites after initial fermentation/racking to carboy. My SG was 1.12 so potential alcohol is already 16%. YIKES! Do I really want to go higher?

Any input from those who have made this would be most helpful! Thanks in advance!

I made the RJS Orange Chocolate last year and I'm making the Wine Expert Raspberry Chocolate this year. The Orange Chocolate was very, very good and I hope the WE version is just as good.

How long has it been aging so far? I bulk aged my Orange Chocolate for 6 months. The Raspberry Chocolate has been aging for three months and I'll let it go for another three months. You can rack one more time and fortify and bottle anytime a month after racking but, obviosuly, more aging is better.

It's been in a carboy only since December 23rd. (Started 12/15 and brewbelt moved things quickly!). I've only racked once from primary to carboy, adding f-pack and other additives at that point. Thinking I should rack again this week, adding brandy if recommended and even adding campden tablets for additional preservative, if recommended. Thoughts?

You can rack after a month, though I wouldn't normally do so. However, it's ok since you plan to add your brandy at that time. I'd let it bulk age for at least a couple more months after that though. No additional campden tablet is necessary.

Would I be better off not adding the brandy? I can always have a shot with it! LOL!

I think you missed the_bird's point. Port is fortified BEFORE fermentation stops to halt further fermentation and provide residual sweetness without the addition of additional sugar. To fortify your wine AFTER fermentation stops may be detrimental, as you'll be adding quite a bit of alcohol without the benefit of sweetness to balance it. At this point, you need to taste the wine and decide for yourself whether it will benefit from a brandy addition.

Yeah, doing some more reading on port in my Wine Bible (co-incidentally, I've been really getting into port lately), the wine is racked onto neutral grape brandy when fermenation is only half completed. What's your gravity right now? Ports really do want to be quite sweet, the ones I've more enjoyed had are almost cloying except they've got some acidity to balance.

Yuri_Rage said:

I think you missed the_bird's point. Port is fortified BEFORE fermentation stops to halt further fermentation and provide residual sweetness without the addition of additional sugar. To fortify your wine AFTER fermentation stops may be detrimental, as you'll be adding quite a bit of alcohol without the benefit of sweetness to balance it. At this point, you need to taste the wine and decide for yourself whether it will benefit from a brandy addition.

Click to expand...

Yuri, the fortification of this particular wine kit is an extremely common tweak. The directions state that the kit requires sterile filtering to prevent renewed fermentation in the bottle. Since virtually nobody has the capability to sterile filter, they simply choose to boost the alcohol level. Untouched, it ferments out to about 16% and the addition of Everclear (some like to use brandy) will boost it a little further and should help prevent renewed fermentation.

Additionally, this kit is very sweet as it is and therefore a reduction in sweetness is not harmful and, in fact, welcomed by a lot of folks.

Ordinarily I wouldn't recommend fortifying after the fact but, as I said, this is very, very common in this specific wine kit.

Yeah, you need to decide where you are and where you want to be. Port is generally around 20% abv and quite sweet, in the dessert wine range. So what abv are you at now? How sweet is it now? How strong do you want it and how sweet do you want it to be. Also, the brandy is added so early in a port's life that is not only halts fermentation to leave residual sweetness, but it also must age for a very long time to mellow and blend with the wine. So taking a shot of brandy with it would be quite different

I have the Wine Expert Orange Chocolate Kit and its been going for about 45 days. I racked it the first time last night. I poured a little off for a "quality control" check and it blew me away how good it tasted. I really had to resist pouring some more off-its that good. I can tell already there will be another of these in the works next year.

I want to bulk age it as Solstice recommends and its probably a good idea. Thats probably the only way there will be any left at Christmas and my original idea was to have this for Christmas presents.

Tex, this stuff is highly addictive and once you begin drinking it, it does indeed disappear quickly. Be careful since there's a temptation to drink it like conventional wine. If you do, you'll regret it the next morning. If you can get your hands on some 375ml bottles, that's one way to avoid overindulging. BTW, these make great Christmas gifts.

Well Solstice-if I become addicted to the stuff, and already I'm thinking I will, it will be on your concience!!!! After reading some of your comments about this wine in a thread before I decided to give it a try.

I still can't believe how tasty it is long before its even ready to bottle. I'm wondering now if I should snag a Rasberry Chocolate kit as well. I am torn between whether to fortify my kit or not. Is there a noticeable reduction in the "Sweetness" of the taste when its cut with the Everclear.

Yes, I'm thinking they should make a very special Christmas Present.

I wouldn't say there's a noticeable reduction in sweetness but the Everclear just seems to round it out more. In other words, it offsets the sweetness rather than reduce it.

So you would recommend a full pint of Everclear for a three gallon batch? And I guess you add it whenever you start to bulk age it?

I added a pint to mine at bulk aging. I actually called the manufacturer and was told that a pint "would be perfect".

Can't argue with perfect.

The owner of my wine supply shop told me the style of port should have a higher ABV but is limited to restrictive Canadian laws. He also said he was told they by law can not give you advice in the instructions on high to do this tweak because it would fortify the wine beyond the legal limit for alcohol content.

Please don't tell the Cnadian government what I am gonna to to their kit!