ctgwaltney
Member
this is my first post. I have read several post and found this forum very informative and interesting. I am hoping some of you with more experience can answer a few of my questions. I have only made one batch of wine from a kit and it turned out great. I decided to do the
Welch's as I already had the juice on hand. I am making this 5 gallon batch of Welch's wine from bottles juice not concentrate. Here are my questions
Is it necessary to add Pectic Enzyme and campden tabs
I do not have Pectic enzyme on hand and recently read that if you are allergic to sulfur you shouldn't use campden tabs.
What I have is 4.25 gallons of Welch's grape juice and I added 3/4 of a gallon of well water to make an even 5 gallon batch. All I have added so far is sugar to bring sg to 1.098 and I have added 1 tsp of acid blend. I heard this can make it tart and I added less than called for in recipe as I don't like my wine to tart. I mixed the sugar and acid blend yesterday and was gonna add yeast and yeast nutrient today I am using Red star yeast Premier Cuvee yeast. I have been use to drinking wine that is around 18% that a friend makes and I like it like that. I realize that this wine should only come in around 14% but that is ok. I also wanted to know if it is possible to add more sugar after the sg drops to avoid the yeast from choking out. or is this yeast only gonna provide me at most with the 14%. I thought maybe staggering the sugar would let you possibly get an alcohol closer to the 18%. The temperature is 72 and I am using a fermenting bucket with lid and airlock. After adding yeast should I stir daily and also should I leave bucket not sealed and just covered to aid in oxygen for yeast to get a better start. Look forward to learning more about this hobby and meeting some new people on this forum that have the same interest in winemaking as myself. Thanks for any advice
Welch's as I already had the juice on hand. I am making this 5 gallon batch of Welch's wine from bottles juice not concentrate. Here are my questions
Is it necessary to add Pectic Enzyme and campden tabs
I do not have Pectic enzyme on hand and recently read that if you are allergic to sulfur you shouldn't use campden tabs.
What I have is 4.25 gallons of Welch's grape juice and I added 3/4 of a gallon of well water to make an even 5 gallon batch. All I have added so far is sugar to bring sg to 1.098 and I have added 1 tsp of acid blend. I heard this can make it tart and I added less than called for in recipe as I don't like my wine to tart. I mixed the sugar and acid blend yesterday and was gonna add yeast and yeast nutrient today I am using Red star yeast Premier Cuvee yeast. I have been use to drinking wine that is around 18% that a friend makes and I like it like that. I realize that this wine should only come in around 14% but that is ok. I also wanted to know if it is possible to add more sugar after the sg drops to avoid the yeast from choking out. or is this yeast only gonna provide me at most with the 14%. I thought maybe staggering the sugar would let you possibly get an alcohol closer to the 18%. The temperature is 72 and I am using a fermenting bucket with lid and airlock. After adding yeast should I stir daily and also should I leave bucket not sealed and just covered to aid in oxygen for yeast to get a better start. Look forward to learning more about this hobby and meeting some new people on this forum that have the same interest in winemaking as myself. Thanks for any advice