Welch's Grape Juice Wine

[red_dragon]

I would seal the current fermenter and fit it with an airlock before leaving for 2 weeks. Or you could transfer it to secondary.

 

[MindenMan]

I agree, seal the fermenter with an airlock now, or you may have 4 gallons of Welch's vinegar when you get back.

 

[z-bob]

Fermentation has already subsided (it was pretty active yesterday.) I think I'll give it another day or two and rack to to a secondary.

 

[chucklong87]

I brewed this wine over a period of 60 days and it was good. I only used three ingredients however. Grape juice sugar and yeast. I also top my jugs with a balloon for most of the brewing process. When the balloon no longer inflates each day it is safe to airlock and shelve. About 2 weeks will make a dribkable wine but for better flavor and higher potency 30- 60 days is best. The longer you wait the better as with all wines. and thanks for a good starting point.

 

[eigua]

I brewed this wine over a period of 60 days and it was good. I only used three ingredients however. Grape juice sugar and yeast. I also top my jugs with a balloon for most of the brewing process. When the balloon no longer inflates each day it is safe to airlock and shelve. About 2 weeks will make a dribkable wine but for better flavor and higher potency 30- 60 days is best. The longer you wait the better as with all wines. and thanks for a good starting point.

I did this wine with concord grape juice and no acid blend. I like it, but it has some of that vinegar taste I really don't like in reds. I'm really sensitive to that taste, so I don't like most red wine (except pretty expensive ones) because most I've tried have some degree of it. Do you notice any vinegar taste at all in your batch? I may have had an oxidation problem I'm guessing.

 

[smit6089]

First ever batch of wine. Well I read about half of the posts in this thread before starting my own 1 gal batch and now after starting my own I have read the rest of the posts. A lot of great information spread over 930+ posts. I wanted to make this as a 'test' before starting a 6gal batch of mulberry wine.


If anyone feels like reading through my process and giving any advice or corrections I would appreciate it. Thanks to everyone in advance and thanks for all the great info.


Started by steralizing all equipment and tools with 1step. I mixed the recipie per instructions on 5/31/16 sans the acid blend but never thought about grapes having a different sugar content year to year (duh) and ended up with an OG of 1.110. Oh well, looks like we'll have some really sweet rocket fuel so I thought. 12 hours after mixing the must I pitched 71B 1122 yeast that had been rehidrated into the 1 gal glass carboy. Had activity in about 6 hours and a very vigorous fermentation after 12.

Covered with napkin and left it as alone as I could. Put on airlock 4 days later on 06/04/16 after fermentation had slowed and SG was reading 1.012. Topped off with about 2oz of distilled water to bring level to bottom of carboy neck. Every few days I would pull a very small sample and taste due to my extreme lack of patients. I was surprised how hot this stuff was and that it just kept on fermenting. I thought the yeast would have died off at 14ish% but it just kept eating away. There has been a very strong rubber smell since installing the airlock. I assume it's from the stopper (brand new). Also feel that the wine tastes very thin. Sort of feel like someone spilled grape juice in my everclear. Any way for the last 4 days the SG has heald steady at 0.992 and there has been a slight vinegar smell that disapates very quickly when the airlock is removed but doesn't leave a noticeable taste in the wine. Any ideas on the vinegar smell? Any way yesterday 06/15/16 I transfered to secondary onto 1/16 tsp K meta, 1.5oz chopped raisins and 1 oz medium toast french oak cubes that had been boiled in a tiny bit of water together to steralize. Degassed with drill attachment and topped off with about 2oz of barefoot cabernet. Now to play the waiting game again.

Once clear I will rack again onto another 1/16th tsp K meta and K sorbate, wait 3 days and sweeten back up to 1.000, wait another three days and bottle.

Any big issues anyone sees with my process or advice going forward? Thanks again for everyone sharing and all the knowledge you all have shared.

 

[Rokus]

Hi, I'm doing a 5gal batch of this using the white grape concentrate, going for a dry white wine. What do you think About adding 8 lbs of Granny Smith apples to the primary? I'm new to wine making, I think this sounds good what do you think???

 

[z-bob]

I racked my latest batch about 4 weeks ago. It has a layer of sediment again; should I rack it again? If so, do I need to add 1/4 tsp of K-meta to reduce any oxygen that it picks up during the racking process?

It's a 4 gallon batch, I'm temped to rack it to a 3 gallon carboy plus a couple of 1.5L bottles (and drink the rest.)

I know "sparkles" are supposed to be a serious flaw in wine, especially reds, but I kinda like Lambrusco so I don't think I'm gonna degas it. Unless that helps it settle out faster.

 

[dr_al]

I started a 1 gallon batch 3 or 4 years ago, racked it and stabilized, life got insane, I kept topping off that airlock and never touched it. This week I moved and transferred it to a new container and took a taste, It is amazing after sitting for so long. I need to find my log now the concord flavor is nicely there then fades to other flavor's I can't describe yet other than good. Smooth, unique and strong. I see a 5 gallon batch in the works soon so I can have plenty to gift friends in a few more years.

 

[z-bob]

4 gallon batch that I started Memorial Day weekend: I just drew off four 750ml bottles and racked the rest to a 3 gallon carboy. (just enough leftover for a glass to sample) I used flip-top bottles and added a 2.5 gram sugar cube to each one, so it should be lightly carbonated and ready to drink in a month.

Should I add metabisulphite to the carboy? About 1/8 of a teaspoon? And do I need to degas it, or did siphoning it from one carboy to another do a pretty good job of that already?

I used Cotes de Blanc yeast for this, first time I used it for grape wine, and it's clear as can be and tastes lovely. Not dry and not sweet either. I tried to take a hydrometer reading and the hydrometer just sank off the scale. So I probably need to get a new hydrometer, but there's no sugar left and the wine still has a softness to it that I like.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

What's this on my wine? Sorry for the crappy picture. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1472778600.030578.jpg
It's been in tertiary for almost a week now and I dosed it with 1 Campden tab when I racked it. Also at that time it tasted great and it's starting to clear nicely. It was started on July 27th.

 

[z-bob]

The wine that I bottled a few months ago tasted really good at bottling time and when I opened some 3 weeks later. Then when I opened a couple for Thanksgiving, it tasted okay but was too tart. (not vinegary, just too acid) If I leave them alone will they do that malo-lactic fermentation thing and soften a little? How long does that take?

 

[z-bob]

Anybody use a blend of Welch's grape juice (Concord) and Welch's white grape juice (Niagara)? What ratio do you use? I'm considering mixing some 50:50... would that end up red or pink? (I think red)

 

[Sevenal]

You want red, white, or pink. Think about it. Wanna shake up the old recipe try White with a couple cranberry concentrate or go all white then make Skeeter Pee on the must.
Have fun, drink responsibly and let your pallet dictate your next adventure.
Oh and you might add on of the acidic additives .

 

[Sevenal]

What's this on my wine? Sorry for the crappy picture. View attachment 368604
It's been in tertiary for almost a week now and I dosed it with 1 Campden tab when I racked it. Also at that time it tasted great and it's starting to clear nicely. It was started on July 27th.

Let it ferment a month cold crash and rack. repeat.
Then bottle it and see if it gets some funky floaters back.

 

[z-bob]

You want red, white, or pink. Think about it. Wanna shake up the old recipe try White with a couple cranberry concentrate or go all white then make Skeeter Pee on the must.
Have fun, drink responsibly and let your pallet dictate your next adventure.
Oh and you might add on of the acidic additives .

I want red, but the wine I made with all Concord juice ended up a little harsh (too acid.) It tasted good when it was *almost* finished. I thought blending in some Niagara juice next time might take the edge off.

Another 6 months in the bottle and it might be good again, but I'm not very patient.

 

[indymedic]

I decided I wanted to take a crack at wine and chose this for my first recipe. It has been in primary for 5 days now and is still bubbling away. I can't wait to try this.

Has anyone put this on oak. If so how did you like the results.

 

[slim49]

I put oak chips on several gallons of white welsh. Although,
Takes 8 mths to a year in storage to mellow out right.
Ppl seldom believe me it's from a concentrate!
Slim

 

[indymedic]

I put oak chips on several gallons of white welsh. Although,
Takes 8 mths to a year in storage to mellow out right.
Ppl seldom believe me it's from a concentrate!
Slim

Awesome! That's a long time but it would be worth the wait for me just to taste the difference. How much oak did you use and how long did you leave it on?

 

[z-bob]

I bought 4 gallons of Aldi's white (Niagara) grape juice a few weeks ago. I put 3 gallons in a bucket and 3 quarts in a 4L jug. I added 34 oz. of sugar to the bucket to bring it up to 22 or 23 Brix, I don't remember which. And I added a couple of jars of old plum jelly that had turned brown to the jug and added a teaspoon of pectic enzyme. Added yeast nutrient to both and pitched with D47 yeast. I put the bucket in my utility room (temperature in the low mid-60's) with a loose fitting lid and no air lock. I put a lock on the jug right away and put it in a heated basement room in the upper 60's.

The jug started fermenting right away. The bucket took a while to get going, probably from the lower temperature. The jug has slowed way down now and is starting to lighten in color and has a lot of sediment. I'm not going to rack it; wine can be left on the lees with D47. I've topped it up with that half bottle of juice I held back.

Yesterday I took a degassing wand to the bucket and stirred it up good (and I should have taken a hydrometer reading) It really fizzed. I poured it all into a 4 gallon carboy. It is fermenting vigorously now. I'm glad I didn't use a 3 gallon carboy because if I had it would have foamed-out all over the place.

I need to start keeping notes; I can't believe how many important details I've forgotten (like the start date, OG, and almost forgot how many gallons)

 

[thaymond]

I bought 4 gallons of Aldi's white (Niagara) grape juice a few weeks ago. I put 3 gallons in a bucket and 3 quarts in a 4L jug. I added 34 oz. of sugar to the bucket to bring it up to 22 or 23 Brix, I don't remember which. And I added a couple of jars of old plum jelly that had turned brown to the jug and added a teaspoon of pectic enzyme. Added yeast nutrient to both and pitched with D47 yeast. I put the bucket in my utility room (temperature in the low mid-60's) with a loose fitting lid and no air lock. I put a lock on the jug right away and put it in a heated basement room in the upper 60's.

The jug started fermenting right away. The bucket took a while to get going, probably from the lower temperature. The jug has slowed way down now and is starting to lighten in color and has a lot of sediment. I'm not going to rack it; wine can be left on the lees with D47. I've topped it up with that half bottle of juice I held back.

Yesterday I took a degassing wand to the bucket and stirred it up good (and I should have taken a hydrometer reading) It really fizzed. I poured it all into a 4 gallon carboy. It is fermenting vigorously now. I'm glad I didn't use a 3 gallon carboy because if I had it would have foamed-out all over the place.

I need to start keeping notes; I can't believe how many important details I've forgotten (like the start date, OG, and almost forgot how many gallons)

I'm interested how this turns out. I have been wanting to make a wine from juice, but it seems like all grape juices are treated.

Aldi is great. I use their apple juice for my ciders now. I have found. That it tastes better than other brands from other stores.

 

[jmcdaniel0]

I love how this thread just keeps on growing. I make this recipe on a regular basis. My family loves it as a sweetish table wine. Its good stuff.

 

[indymedic]

Just bottled my first gallon of this. And have a half a mug left to drink and I have to say for cheap as dirt wine it's not to bad.

I followed the recipe to the T this time but will make a few modifications in the next few batches to perfect it to my taste. But all in all pretty good.

 

[trbig]

I make this quite a bit, but have tweeked it a bit. I use 2 cans of juice per gallon, but for a dry wine, I use 1.75 lbs of sugar. For a medium wine, use 2 lbs sugar and a desert wine, 2.25 lbs. But this left a bit of a thin mouthfeel wine to me, so I started making it with the 1.75 lbs of sugar with D47 yeast. This just about maxes out the yeast to 14%. Then I sweeten it to taste with additional straight concentrate. If the yeast start in again, I wait a few days and sweeten again. Eventually, the yeast stop working. Or you could throw in a camden tablet, but I never use them unless I am in a hurry and have to have it.

If you really like a heavier wine, you could even do 3 cans per gallon. I have done that, but you have to cut back on the sugar and I don't remember what I did there. Anyway.. Cheers!!

 

[MaxSmart8699]

Concentrates 48oz cans
4 grape
1 Strawberry Breeze
1 White Grape Raspberry Juice

1 Apple-Grape-Cherry

60-64oz
white grape mango
1White Cranberry Peach
1White Cranberry Strawberry
1 Cranberry Cherry
3Blueberry Pomegranate
96oz
1Grape
1Apple
3lb of mixed berries (Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries & raspberries)
About 6.5lb white cane sugar 1lb light brown (ran out of white)
Peptic enzyme and yeast nutrient
1.5gal water
18 hours or so later (1.08 reading)
Red Star Pasteur Blanc Champagne Yeast (pack and a half)( 1 gallon jug and a 7.9 gal bucket) 1 day later Smells great so far. (no room for oak chips though)--- and not just welches some are Ocean spray and store brand

 

[eigua]

I made this recipe using Welch's concord grape juice in a bottle instead of concentrated grape juice. I used nearly a gallon of juice, 2 cups of sugar, pectic enzyme (it didn't clear), and yeast nutrient. No added acids. When it was young, it was pretty odd tasting, but now that it's had 10 months to age in the bottle, it's really quite nice. It's a bit strong at rougly 15% ABV and reminds me a little bit of port wine, but not as sweet. The concorde grape flavor/aroma held up well. All in all a very pleasant wine and with the concorde grape aroma it's nothing like anything I've tasted before. I would make it again.

 

[dchalladay]

Hopefully not a dumb question, but do you need to pasteurize the wine once its corked like i do for me beer and hard cider?

 

[Yooper]

Hopefully not a dumb question, but do you need to pasteurize the wine once its corked like i do for me beer and hard cider?

Not if you make it properly.

Of course, you don't need to pasteurize beer either.

Cider can be pasteurized, but I've never done it.

 

[z-bob]

I'm interested how this turns out. I have been wanting to make a wine from juice, but it seems like all grape juices are treated.

Aldi is great. I use their apple juice for my ciders now. I have found. That it tastes better than other brands from other stores.

They both turned out good! I really like the one with the plum jelly. It had a sort of spicy taste to it.

Latest experiment was mixing a half gallon of Aldi's white (Niagara) grape juice with a 1/2 gallon of red (Concord) and fermenting with bread yeast and no added sugar. I did add some yeast nutrient. It fermented very fast (and kinda cloudy) and I fined it with Knox gelatin. That dropped it nice and clear, and I bottled it like beer using sugar for priming. Look for the recent thread about "grape cider". It took a long time to carbonate, but turned out very nice when it was finally done. A sparkling rose, about 7% ABV. Very easy to drink. I may try the same thing again with a proper wine yeast.

 

[Gonzo_Don]

I just found 6 bottles of this I kept from December 2014. At the time, my comment in my log was "Horrible - never again."
Can't wait to open a bottle and see what 2-1/2 years has done to it. Mind you, it was kept in a cardboard box in a garage in Tennessee where our summers hit high 90's and stay there.
This should be fun...