Welch's Grape Juice Wine

tinknocker66 said:

I just did a 6 gal batch of this recipe using apple/cherry juice concentrate. its sitting on the kitchen counter and I don't think I can move it now. LOL I hope the wife doesn't mind cause its goin to be there for at least a week.

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I think something went terribly wrong. I just transferred to a 5 gal carboy and when I was done I took a sip from the leftover. It was foul. I don't know where I went wrong but I have 5 gal of crap

Give it some time. If you sampled what was left over chances are you got a little yeast in the sample. It will be tart and need sweeting but give it time.

We followed the recipe, using EC-1118 for the yeast. OG was 1.090. Just took a gravity reading after a few weeks in the secondary, 0.985 and still dropping! Have we lost it too vinegar or can it be saved?

soapy45 said:

We followed the recipe, using EC-1118 for the yeast. OG was 1.090. Just took a gravity reading after a few weeks in the secondary, 0.985 and still dropping! Have we lost it too vinegar or can it be saved?

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There's nothing wrong with the wine or that yeast. The wine will probably come out dry due to that yeast. Be patient and let it run it's course. It should be just fine. When the fermentation is completely finished and the wine has cleared, taste a sample and backsweeten if that suits your taste at that point.

Has anyone used this one before? Comes in a plastic can.

I dont see any preservatives in the ingredients list. But 12hours after adding my activated yeast (1118) nothing is happening. Usually (with apple juice) its foaming and going wild after a few hours....

Exactly what I used. Works perfect!


Did you go by the recipe?

Yes, but I skipped acid blend and pectic enzyme and went straight for the yeast.
Its been a few days, no activity..

I'll assume the yeast wasn't expired. What type of yeast did you use? Is the temp within the yeast limits? Did you mix in any campden tablets or other preservatives? If so, did you give it some time before throwing the yeast in?

It should be bubbling away by now.

I'm having the same problem with the plastic juice cans. Over 24 hours still at 1.090. I even started the yeast with a dab of Orange juice in some warm water and I know it was working. It smelled like bread dough. Can camden tablets kill wine yeast?

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Did you add any sugar?

I did. 8lbs of sugar

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jcutch82 said:

I'm having the same problem with the plastic juice cans. Over 24 hours still at 1.090. I even started the yeast with a dab of Orange juice in some warm water and I know it was working. It smelled like bread dough. Can camden tablets kill wine yeast?

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yes campden tablets can kill yeast, or more truthfully they along with k meta are added at the end to allow us to backsweeten with creating bottle bombs. maybe try stirring the crap out the wine mix and pitching another packet will help. i usually use apple juice when creating a starter, the orange juice is acidic and tough to ferment. hope this helps

After 28 hours should I worry? The lid is on loosely with no air lock. I also just realized I used distilled water not realizing it could inhibit fermentation. Yeast nutrient was added according to the original recipe. My first batch was peach and I don't remember how long it took for the og to drop. Although I know I had a sack of smashed peach steeping for a few days

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That's plenty of sugar to get it going. check the yeast temp working range and adjust accordingly. Use a heating pad to get it started if you need to.

dranderson said:

That's plenty of sugar to get it going. check the yeast temp working range and adjust accordingly. Use a heating pad to get it started if you need to.

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Is distilled water perhaps my issue? Is there any way to fix the distilled water mistake if that is infact the issue?

jcutch82 said:

Is distilled water perhaps my issue? Is there any way to fix the distilled water mistake if that is infact the issue?

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No, that's not an issue.

I started another batch of yeast in apple juice and dropped it last night. I can tell something is happening this morning. The yeast is forming a metropolis now. Gd noobs and all the impatient questions lol

Well I poured out some of the juice into a glass and warmed it up to 43C in the microwave, added a packet of L 1118 and it started fermenting almost instantly.
I think my basement is too cold (~15C) for the yeast. Which is surprising because I started a batch of apple cider at the same time with the same yeast and it is fine. Perhaps the increased sugar in the wine requires warmer conditions?

mtaylor1 said:

Well I poured out some of the juice into a glass and warmed it up to 43C in the microwave, added a packet of L 1118 and it started fermenting almost instantly.
I think my basement is too cold (~15C) for the yeast. Which is surprising because I started a batch of apple cider at the same time with the same yeast and it is fine. Perhaps the increased sugar in the wine requires warmer conditions?

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Datasheets are quite helpful:
"AVOID COLD SHOCKING THE YEAST. THE TEMPERATURE DROP BETWEEN THE
MUST TO BE INOCULATED AND THE REHYDRATION MEDIUM SHOULD NEVER BE >10°C"

Im pretty sure I killed the yeast now...
I got a heated floor mat under the carboy now, ill warm up the juice and add more yeast, fingers crossed.

Warming it up worked, the yeast that was already in there became active and now its fermenting.
The electric mat warmed the juice up nicely, its at 20C now.

Did you use Camden tablets yooper?

jcutch82 said:

Did you use Camden tablets yooper?

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I'm not yooper but.....

Before or after fermentation?

Well I know after you need them... seems like every other recipe I've seen has the tabs at the start also... except this one

I have made 2 batches of this and did not use them. If you are worried about contaminations, crush some up and put them in. If everything is sanitized you shouldn't have to worry.

jcutch82 said:

Well I know after you need them... seems like every other recipe I've seen has the tabs at the start also... except this one

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Generally, I wouldn't worry about wild yeasties or random possibly infectious items in frozen canned juices like these, so I don't worry about adding campden for these concentrate recipes at the beginning.

So first I wan t to introduce myself, I'm a44 y/old who tried my hand at beer brewing about 12years ago with3 unsuccessful batches which was enough discouragement to quit and just buy more beer,

This last Christmas my sister and I were drinking around a campfire and ran out of wine at about 2am which led to the discussion of "how hard could it be to brew our own wine". Well. I have read every post in this post and I became so motivated again that I have made a large purchase or equipment and supplies ,,

Now due to the Midwest heavy snow fall. My yeast has arrived but the large shipment of e quip tent has not. I am growing impatient and wanting to at least start the batch (boil the sugar, add the concentrate and rest 12 hours,, maybe pitch the yeast tomorrow ) but my sterilization tablets have not arrived yet. My question is should I continue to wait for that or am I ok to start the batch with a dishwasher clean pot?

I appreciate all the comments both good and bad as they all answer questions,, I just haven't read any on the sterilization of the first pot as of yet.

Thanks,,, Glenn

If you are using the dishwasher as you sterilization agent, I'd assume that's why your beer went bad. Try a cap full of bleach with a gallon of water to sterilize everything that touches your wine. Stirring spoons, containers, stoppers... etc.

Also, what are you fermenting in... a pot? You need scratch free food grade plastic or glass that can be sealed off eventually via an airlock. You can do it in your pot... but I'd put money on this being your fourth failed attempt if you just use a dishwasher clean pot to make wine

No,, I saved 2 one gallon mogan David bottles and I was thinking that I could use those for my first two batches. I figured my supplies would be here by time I'm ready for my two six gallon buckets.

I was more concerned if the boiling water in the pot before adding the 1 1/4 cup of sugar would be sufficient for sterilization to. Get this started

I'm only a few batches in but id be sure to sterilize those fermentation vessels and have drilled stoppers with airlocks one the yeast has multiplied and is now fermenting.

Talbotway said:

I was more concerned if the boiling water in the pot before adding the 1 1/4 cup of sugar would be sufficient for sterilization to. Get this started

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The recipe calls for 1 1/4 pounds of sugar, which is about 2 1/4 cups by my calculations... per gallon

Oh snap!!!! Jcutch. I think you just saved me a big headache, I misread that,,,,

So I can fix that since I haven't pitched the yeast yet. Thank you very much

Talbotway said:

Oh snap!!!! Jcutch. I think you just saved me a big headache, I misread that,,,,

So I can fix that since I haven't pitched the yeast yet. Thank you very much

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No problem homey.

When you use concentrate, will the wine ever clear?

Several posts in this link say yes, I'm in the first step of my first batch

So I readjusted my sugar and cam to a realization that I just boiled my sugars till they dissolved. Later I've read that boiling 5 min. Changes the molecular structure. So does that just make it easier for the yeast meaning that ill still be ok but just a longer primary fermentation time? I also had a space heater Infront of the two gallons while watching football. By halftime I checked and my temp was at 110 which my package states is the high limit. Still active so I don't think I hurt it too bad.

My primary question was the sugar solution and its effects on primary fermentation

Well, just over a week ago I made 2 batches exactly to the recipe. Looking back both of my OG's were 1.055 and 1.054. Did I screw up?

Taurii said:

Well, just over a week ago I made 2 batches exactly to the recipe. Looking back both of my OG's were 1.055 and 1.054. Did I screw up?

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The readings must be wrong- if you made it exactly to the recipe with the correct amount of sugar, it has to be higher than that. The sugars are there, and don't disappear.

My wife and I made a gallon batch and stuck to the recipe and got an OG of 1.086. So def really close to what it was supposed to be.


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