Frozen Grape Juice Concentrate "Wine/champagne"???

[JulietKilo]

After years of brewing beer I just recently started making cider from frozen apple juice concentrate and been pretty happy with it. In the freezer at the store next to the apple juice concentrate is white grape juice concentrate, so I'm curious what I'll end up with if I do the same with it, and if it'll be any good? I don't know anything about wine making and assume maybe it's more complicated? Though I guess it'd be more like champagne I'd be making due to the yeast, and that I'd be carbonating it. If I can make a passable mimosa with the result I'll be happy enough. Anyone ever try this?

 

[jgmillr1]

Hey JulietKilo - The white grape juice is usually from Niagara grapes. Niagara wine is characteristically somewhat acidic and "foxy", meaning it has strong fruit flavors (think of concord juice). This makes it well suited for a sweeter style and is excellent to use as the sparkling wine blended into orange juice to make a mimosa. Frankly that is the only way I like to drink Niagara wine.

Relative to beer making, wine is easier and essentially the same process. Think of it as being able to skip the mash and boil steps so you get right to your room-temp wort. It takes longer to settle the yeast though. Not sure how much instruction you are looking for but it would be good to pick up a book on winemaking so you have some guidelines. Note, the wine yeast will ferment it dry. Be sure to keep up on your sulfites when the fermentation is complete and add sorbate to prevent refermentation when you back-sweeten it. Sounds like you are planning to keg it, so that makes the "bottling" process easy too. Have fun.

 

[JulietKilo]

Hey JulietKilo - The white grape juice is usually from Niagara grapes. Niagara wine is characteristically somewhat acidic and "foxy", meaning it has strong fruit flavors (think of concord juice). This makes it well suited for a sweeter style and is excellent to use as the sparkling wine blended into orange juice to make a mimosa. Frankly that is the only way I like to drink Niagara wine.

Relative to beer making, wine is easier and essentially the same process. Think of it as being able to skip the mash and boil steps so you get right to your room-temp wort. It takes longer to settle the yeast though. Not sure how much instruction you are looking for but it would be good to pick up a book on winemaking so you have some guidelines. Note, the wine yeast will ferment it dry. Be sure to keep up on your sulfites when the fermentation is complete and add sorbate to prevent refermentation when you back-sweeten it. Sounds like you are planning to keg it, so that makes the "bottling" process easy too. Have fun.

Thanks for the perspective. Probably should get a book on it.

Turned out the white grape juice concentrate has the added preservative POTASSIUM METABISULFITE, while the purple grape juice concentrate doesn't, 100% grape juice(Concord perhaps? Doesn't say). So I bought 12 cans of purple to make 3 gallons, pitched with Fermentis Red Star Premier Blanc(recommended by brew shop). It slipped my mind to add the Fermax yeast nutrient that I use with cider, not sure if I should for this? Hopefully whatever it becomes won't be terrible? Can't wait to find out.

 

[jgmillr1]

the added preservative POTASSIUM METABISULFITE, while the purple grape juice concentrate doesn't,

Sodium or potassium metabisulfite (active ingredient in campden tablets) is added by winemakers before fermentation to knock down wild yeast and bacteria. After fermentation it is added to protect against oxidation and bacterial spoilage. Bottom line is that this is a wine yeast-friendly preservative. However benzoate or sorbate preservative additions are NOT yeast friendly and you'll need to watch out for them.

You are OK to use the white grape juice next time if you want. Many people on this forum use Welches concord for wine.

 

[JulietKilo]

Sodium or potassium metabisulfite (active ingredient in campden tablets) is added by winemakers before fermentation to knock down wild yeast and bacteria. After fermentation it is added to protect against oxidation and bacterial spoilage. Bottom line is that this is a wine yeast-friendly preservative. However benzoate or sorbate preservative additions are NOT yeast friendly and you'll need to watch out for them.

You are OK to use the white grape juice next time if you want. Many people on this forum use Welches concord for wine.

Oh metabisulfite IS yeast friendly? That's good news, I really wanted to use white grape, and now will. Thanks for that info!