need some ideas for sweet wine

[miller4528]

I'm new to wine making I've started this hobby in the spring an have became very interested in making my own since my trips to the wine store with my girlfriend have become a regular an slightly costly thing for us. While I dont mind a dry wine since i tend to drink whiskey we both love a good sweet wine goes great with some fresh caught fish or grilled deer steaks. I'm very much a avid hunter an fisher and in my younger days I spent a lot of time picking berries. So this year for my first brew I used 3lb of black raspberries an it turned out dry and needing sweetener. I've got wine berries raspberries elderberries on my land I've planted blueberries an have a small family owned vineyard up the road an access to local farmers makers. So now I'm looking for good sweet wine recipes an lots. I have a few years til I plan on building my house an getting married to find the prefect one. The idea is to find one tht we both love an ages well and make several bottles worth and custom etching our anniversary date into them and having a bottle every year on it. The idea is the wine ages better with time like our marriage. I only have a gallon fermentation tank but have 7 glass gallon carboys to make six gallons of different wine at a time to maximize the kinds to find that perfect one. Any recipes helpful hints tips will be great!

 

[DaveTheDamaja]

I would recommend using a 6 gallon brew pail (bucket) to ferment and a 6 gallon glass or plastic carboy as a secondary fermenter. I'm pretty new at this my self but have learned a great deal from others. Most of the kits you can buy are pretty good! They offer many different choices, plus give great instructions. You'll need to use potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate to sweeten. from what I gather the sorbate is used to hault fermentation and the sulfite is a antioxidant/Chemical sterilant. These ingredients are added after secondary fermentation is complete along with your sweetener. From what I've learned so far some of these kits suggest a lower quantity of sulfite than is needed if you were planning to age your wine. They recommend adding more if you plan on aging longer than six months. Again, these kits offer great instructions for use novice winemakers; I would look into it. But don't take my word for it; there are many more experienced winemakers out there than me. Just offering my two cents worth.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Also, it will be almost impossible to make a sweet wine at home. What you will do is make a dry wine and add sweetener to it after you stabilize it.

If you think a sweet wine goes well with a deer steak wait until you try a nice dry peppery Cab or Zin with the steaks!!! Makes a world of difference. My favorite is a Ferrari-Carrano Cab with a blackened deer steak. Best combination ever.