Average original gravity for wine

[max384]

I have 36 gallons of 2014 wine ready to be bottled. I wrote down the original gravities on a piece of paper that I kept with the fermenters and threw it away! There is no retrieving it; waste management has already taken out the garbage, and I definitely don't remember the OGs from 6 years ago. I have Pinot Noir, Sanviovese, Cabernet Savignon, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay. They came from California grape juice. No sugar or anything added. In determining ABV, what is a good estimate for OG?

 

[Yooper]

I usually start my wines at 1.090 to 1.100, to get an ABV of +/- 12%.

 

[max384]

I usually start my wines at 1.090 to 1.100, to get an ABV of +/- 12%.

Without any added sugar or anything?

 

[Yooper]

Without any added sugar or anything?

Yes, depending on the grapes. Things like native/concord grapes do require sugar, but good wine grapes do not.

Did you add sugar? If you did, that meant the grapes were lower in sugar and the OG could be anything.

 

[max384]

Yes, depending on the grapes. Things like native/concord grapes do require sugar, but good wine grapes do not.

Did you add sugar? If you did, that meant the grapes were lower in sugar and the OG could be anything.

Okay great. Thanks. Nope. No sugar added, but they were wine grapes.

 

[Alphadawg]

Just checked a Cabernet Sav kit I have fermenting. OG was 1.086

 

[max384]

THanks everyone. I just used 1.090 as my OG for all of them. I had seven six gallon carboys that have been sitting undisturbed for about 4 years. One of them had a dry airlock, and had gone bad. Of the ones that were sealed, two were bad, and I bottled four batches. Not terrible considering my neglect. The pinot noir was okay. The chardonnay was lousy but drinkable - an end of the night type drink when anything tastes good. The Merlot was pretty good. And the sangiovese was excellent.

 

[bernardsmith]

I would agree. A potential ABV of about 12% is standard for a wine so your SG would likely have been around 1.090 (+/-)