High OG help

[Unferth]

I ended up with a much greater OG than anticipated for my chocolate cherry port. 1.110 to be exact. And I'm wondering if the pulp and additives might be throwing off the reading.

Ingredients:
20 lbs of thawed, destemmed, crushed Bing cherries in cheese cloths
1/2 gallon cherry cocktail (no preservatives, except vitamin C)
4 lbs brown sugar
4lbs white sugar
Dissolved in water to 5.5 to 6 gallons
1/2 cup cocoa powder
5 tsp tannin
5 tsp acid blend
6 crashed Camden tabs
8 tsp pectic enzyme
2.5 tsp yeast energizer

My first wine from fruit btw. Any advice?
I put a lalvin kv116 starterin it but I'm worried it won't start with that high an OG

 

[Arpolis]

That does sound odd, I have never had a problem with sediments and such causing off readings on the gravity. I crunched the numbers on the GotMead.com Calculator and came up with a starting gravity of about 1.085. Very weired, I really don't know what to say to that. Hopefully someone can chime in.

To give you some solice though, Lalvin kv1116 is a beast of a yeast and will knock out a gravity of 1.110 easy. Taken bone dry you only have an ABV of about 15.55% and 1116 can go all the way to 18 with the nutrients. And that recipe should have no short supply of nutrients so rest asureed that it should be fine.

 

[Honda88]

make a yeast starter, pitch it and let it rip, dont worry about it I have fermented wines dry from 1.100 all the time.

 

[Unferth]

Thanks! Think I could add more sugar?

 

[Arpolis]

Sure I bet you could. But why? Having an ABV over 16% just means it needs to age longer in order to mellow out and sometimes that longer amount is 1-2 years when you go with a really high ABV. My fruit wined I prefer an ABV around 9% and other
Spiced drinks/meads no more than 14%. I think your recipe is just fine as it is.

 

[GinKings]

I wouldn't expect your OG to be that high either. I think your numbers might be off due to the fruit. The sugar is dissolved in the liquid portion of your wine, which is what you are measuring. The cherries contain juice that's probably 1.050-ish. In time that should average out.

1.110 is a walk in the park for most wine yeasts. I don't worry much unless I'm pushing 1.150.

What makes this a port?

 

[Unferth]

I wouldn't expect your OG to be that high either. I think your numbers might be off due to the fruit. The sugar is dissolved in the liquid portion of your wine, which is what you are measuring. The cherries contain juice that's probably 1.050-ish. In time that should average out.

1.110 is a walk in the park for most wine yeasts. I don't worry much unless I'm pushing 1.150.

What makes this a port?

Thanks, I suspected those little buggers were throwing off my reading. I'll fix them!

It will be a port because I'm going to feed the yea sties a bit more in a couple days to kick up the gravity, then when it's at a good sweet level, 1.02?, I'm going to stop fermentation by fortifying it with brandy or shine or somn else.

Then I'll let it bulk age for 8-10 months on toasted oak, bottle age till, well, it's done.

Chocolate covered cherries are a stereotypical Dessert to eat with port, so I figured why not mix the two?

 

[Unferth]

Sure I bet you could. But why? Having an ABV over 16% just means it needs to age longer in order to mellow out and sometimes that longer amount is 1-2 years when you go with a really high ABV. My fruit wined I prefer an ABV around 9% and other
Spiced drinks/meads no more than 14%. I think your recipe is just fine as it is.

I agree, except this one is a bit of an experiment... I'm thinking Christmas 2013...


She's bubbling away nicely now