Tweak a recipe

[Krob7]

I made a 6 gallon batch of wine from the following recipe.

10 cans of red grape concentrate
8 lbs of sugar
Lavlin champagne yeast

Nothing to complain about at all but what would you guys suggest to tweak off of this platform to give it a little something extra? Any well known variations?

 

[bmd2k1]

I personally prefer using FGJC to Sugar.....for better overall flavor. Using sugar to Jack up the SG tends to steal away flavor in my opinion.

Good luck!


Cheers [emoji111]

 

[Abhishek Dewan]

In India, we add some raw wheat to add to body; about a cup for 5 litres. Also, a bit of cinnamon, boiled chai tea leaves for tannins. Add a few chopped raisins and a few de-stoned dates. These additionally provide nutrition to yeast.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Adding raisins for body, or even adding some oak.

 

[bernardsmith]

For body you might also look at different yeasts. DV10 is known for providing greater mouthfeel, for example. Champagne yeast tends to work much like a sledge hammer and offers no flavor or other characteristics. You might also want to see if added acidity might give this wine a little more zing. If you can measure the TA (titratable acidity) you want that to be around 6g/L

 

[Krob7]

Thanks for the ideas, I’m looking at switching to Montrachet yeast and experimenting with some add ons like the oak, raisins and cinnamon.

 

[Krob7]

I’m going to play around with the sugar too. The red star Montrachet claims to work to 15%. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to have an initial reading of 17-18% or would it be better to do a complete ferment and back sweeten?

 

[bernardsmith]

Others may disagree but IMO, wine making is always about balance. What you want to get in balance is flavor, tartness, sweetness, tannin and ABV. Anything out of balance makes for a poor wine. That a yeast can reach 15% ABV before it is dies from alcohol poisoning is fascinating information but it's also irrelevant if the flavor richness of your fruit supports not much more than 12% ABV. That said, the published tolerance of a yeast for alcohol is much like the published specs of the breaking strain of a chain or rope. You are on your own if you assume that it can exceed that load but in all likelihood it will... In other words, most wine makers aim to back sweeten rather than assume that the yeast can read and follow published specs. They can't and don't. You be the master - not the yeast.

 

[Seamonkey84]

With enough experience with nutrients with a certain yeast, you can get a good gauge if your methods will work. Making wine/mead using the BOMM protocol (using wyeast 1388 ale yeast) most people and myself have consistently had the yeast exceed published abv tolerance. but it’s still consistent stops after 120 gravity points (16.5% vs the published 14%). I’ve had many batches start at 1.150 and end right at 1.028-1.030. Just let it sit and make sure it’s stable for several weeks or a month after racking before bottling.