sweet wine questions

[jkrug]

I am making a Riesling wine kit. I put conditioner in it to sweeten it up. I put almost a full bottle of conditioner in it and it is still not all that sweet. This is a 6 gallon kit. Will this sweeten up with age?

One more question I have is how long should a Riesling age? I have read they don't last anymore than 6 most, is that true? Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[Yooper]

I am making a Riesling wine kit. I put conditioner in it to sweeten it up. I put almost a full bottle of conditioner in it and it is still not all that sweet. This is a 6 gallon kit. Will this sweeten up with age?

One more question I have is how long should a Riesling age? I have read they don't last anymore than 6 most, is that true? Thanks in advance for your responses.

It will taste a bit sweeter in the bottle than now, but not much. What SG did you sweeten it to?

Rieslings don't age well, so I would drink it in a year or so depending on how high the original OG was and if it had sulfites added.

 

[jkrug]

What is SG?

 

[novalou]

SG is specific gravity
OG is you starting SG
If you don't have a wine/beer hydrometer, get one. That way you can measure the SG of your sweetened sample.

 

[jkrug]

What should it read?

 

[roadymi]

It depends on how dry/sweet you enjoy it. .098 and below is considered fermented dry.

These numbers may vary by personal preference but this is a rough guide

.096-1.002.................dry
1.002-1.015....... ........semi sweet
1.015-1.025................sweet
1.025 and above......... desert

I often test purchased wines that I like to get a feel for the sweetness level I enjoy. Just remember when sweetening that it is easy to add sweetness..........removing sweetness not so much. Fruit wines tend to taste a little sweeter than they test comparable to a grape wine.....IMO anyways.

 

[jkrug]

Thanks for the responses. This helps alot

 

[Yooper]

.096-1.002.................dry
1.002-1.015....... ........semi sweet
1.015-1.025................sweet
1.025 and above......... desert

Just a quick note to correct a typo. When a wine drops below 1.000, it'll be .990-.999. A wine won't get below .990. The first digit above is missing the first "9". The correct numbers are .990-1.002 in that first description. (Although I disagree that 1.002 is "dry").