Welch's Grape Juice Wine

[Yooper]

If i wanted to keg this, but also backsweeten, could i just not use sorbate since the cold temps. in the keg. Plus, the fact that it really wouldn't matter if there was any renewed fermentation since it is in a keg?

Sure, you could do that. Wine yeast should go dormant at fridge temperatures, but even if not it'll take a while to ferment out.

 

[kjones]

i found some different articles that say to use tannin before adding gelatin, i saw this after i added gelatin, is this a big deal or not?

 

[Yooper]

i found some different articles that say to use tannin before adding gelatin, i saw this after i added gelatin, is this a big deal or not?

Tannin is a flavor that provides "bite" to the wine- so you can add it whenever you want. I've never used gelatin, so I'm not sure about when/how/etc.

 

[ILurvTheWhiskey]

I just started a batch of this and wanted to ask a few questions.

I'm currently making a batch that will ultimately be 5 gallons of sweet wine. I'm using both liquid and frozen white and purple grape juice to get a light purple color. I'm using Montrachet yeast, which from what I understand, poops out around 13%, which means I should be able to get a medium strength wine. I'm kind of new to this stuff, and come from beer brewing, so please correct me if I'm doing something wrong.

What I plan to do is over a period of days, like with a really high gravity beer, I plan on adding, or staggering, my sugars (both table sugar and frozen concentrate). I will let the yeast catch up, convert most of the sugar, then add some more. I plan to continue this until the yeast die from alcohol poisoning, at which point I will add a little more sugar to finally sweeten the product.

Any issues with this?

 

[Yooper]

I just started a batch of this and wanted to ask a few questions.

I'm currently making a batch that will ultimately be 5 gallons of sweet wine. I'm using both liquid and frozen white and purple grape juice to get a light purple color. I'm using Montrachet yeast, which from what I understand, poops out around 13%, which means I should be able to get a medium strength wine. I'm kind of new to this stuff, and come from beer brewing, so please correct me if I'm doing something wrong.

What I plan to do is over a period of days, like with a really high gravity beer, I plan on adding, or staggering, my sugars (both table sugar and frozen concentrate). I will let the yeast catch up, convert most of the sugar, then add some more. I plan to continue this until the yeast die from alcohol poisoning, at which point I will add a little more sugar to finally sweeten the product.

Any issues with this?

No, you can do that. The issue might be the happy yeast, though- I wouldn't be surprised if you go over 15% with the staggered additions. You may have some sweetened rocket fuel that will take a while to age out.

You might want to consider simply doing the recipe as is, then stabilizing with sorbate and campden. Wait a couple of days, then sweeten as desired. That would give you more dependable results.

 

[ILurvTheWhiskey]

Ok. I went ahead and followed through with two batches, one three gallon carboy following the general idea posted by Yooper and one posted following the concept of what I thought up. I will say, boiling sugar water and then adding it to your already fermenting beverage is something that should be done slowly! I had this crazy azz explosion! Not sure what caused it, but the must started foaming and spoooooosh up it came pouring out like a volcano onto the floor. Good thing I had had a few, hahha. Can't wait for these to be done, thanks!

 

[CATFISHER74]

I have had this going since Monday and got a blazing fermentation going.
I was wondering if this should be at lower than room temp?
I have it sitting a closet, but i thought i heard before higher temps make wine bitter.

 

[Yooper]

I have had this going since Monday and got a blazing fermentation going.
I was wondering if this should be at lower than room temp?
I have it sitting a closet, but i thought i heard before higher temps make wine bitter.

No, wine does fine at higher temperatures. Wine yeast actually prefer it warmer than most ale yeast strains. I like to make wine in the summer, beer in the fall through spring, just because the temperatures are more conducive. It's tough to get wine going when it's too cool.

 

[CATFISHER74]

After six days of fermenting no activity.
I just noticed when i went to grab yeast for something else i had used champagne for this by accident.
Does this yeast ferment out faster than the other yeast?

 

[Yooper]

They all ferment out pretty quickly. I haven't noticed a real difference in yeast strains and fermentation times.

 

[NCBrewer6]

They all ferment out pretty quickly. I haven't noticed a real difference in yeast strains and fermentation times.

Have you noticed any difference between white and red? I started 2 batches about a week ago using Yoopers original recipe... one red and one white. Fermentation was going stong in both the first few days and when I attached my airlocks I noticed the white batch was bubbling WAY more than the red. Now the red has all but stopped and the white still bubbles about ever 9 or 10 seconds. The only thing I can think that would cause this is that I may have put just a little bit more sugar in the white.

How do I know when it is clear enough to rack for the first time?

 

[CATFISHER74]

My batches have been going about 30 days now and have been racked once after about seven days.
Now the air lock has gone back down should i rack again or fine and bottle?

 

[Yooper]

If it's at a stable FG (it usually finished at .990 or so for me) and it's clear, it'd be ok to bottle it. You get some sediment with this wine, but usually after 60 days or so, it's stopped and you're pretty safe to bottle. If you have a ton of lees, you can rack again, but if you don't, then you can just wait it out.

 

[CATFISHER74]

If it's at a stable FG (it usually finished at .990 or so for me) and it's clear, it'd be ok to bottle it. You get some sediment with this wine, but usually after 60 days or so, it's stopped and you're pretty safe to bottle. If you have a ton of lees, you can rack again, but if you don't, then you can just wait it out.

So it will be ok sitting another 30 days even thou the air lock is not pushing up/

 

[nleppo]

are there any more updates? cheap wine holds my interest!

 

[CATFISHER74]

I just added wine condiitioner to mine 3 days ago still seems to be fermenting thou.
I started on 2/20 racked after 7 days then again after about 2 weeks seems really clear and not much lees on the bottom.

 

[nleppo]

I started a batch a couple of weeks ago and it hasn't cleared much. I am not worrying about it, had an extra carboy and the whole batch only cost me like 12 bucks. it's actually gonna cost more to get the bottles than it did to make it!

 

[CATFISHER74]

Been going since 2/20 been racked twice should i bottle now?
And how do you bottle in a 1 gallon bottle?

 

[Yooper]

Been going since 2/20 been racked twice should i bottle now?
And how do you bottle in a 1 gallon bottle?

If it's finished, and clear, you can bottle it.

I never heard of bottling in a 1 gallon bottle- that's a lot of wine for me to drink in one sitting. I bottle mine in either regular wine bottles, or Grolsch flip top bottles (16 ounces is a nice one person serving).

 

[GNBrews]

Something to add, and I'm sure Yooper will have input on this as well, but I noticed that if you start with juice that already contains ascorbic acid (many do) you should *not* add the 2tsp of acid blend mentioned in the original recipe. If you do, the end result is extremely tart.

Taste the finished wine first, then add acid blend a little at a time until you find a good balance.

 

[CATFISHER74]

Something to add, and I'm sure Yooper will have input on this as well, but I noticed that if you start with juice that already contains ascorbic acid (many do) you should *not* add the 2tsp of acid blend mentioned in the original recipe. If you do, the end result is extremely tart.

Taste the finished wine first, then add acid blend a little at a time until you find a good balance.

I was drinking some Saturday and that was exactly what i was thinking it was a little tart.I was thinking of adding half next time.

 

[ernestmyname]

I am fermenting a gallon now.

It smells like eggs. Hard boiled eggs. Is this normal?

Everyone in the apartment was wandering around trying to figure out where the smell was coming from.

I can say that the yeast had a similar smell, but the beer I have brewed didn't have an eggy smell.

 

[Yooper]

I am fermenting a gallon now.

It smells like eggs. Hard boiled eggs. Is this normal?

Everyone in the apartment was wandering around trying to figure out where the smell was coming from.

I can say that the yeast had a similar smell, but the beer I have brewed didn't have an eggy smell.

Not really- it sounds like stressed yeast. If it's not finished fermenting, give the fermenter a stir, to get oxygen in there a little and see if it helps.

 

[ernestmyname]

The fermentation seems strong. Lots of bubbles (in the wine itself).

I wondered when I was making this why it wasn't necessary to agitate it a lot to get the oxygen count higher right before I pitched the yeast..

If I have an air lock, will stirring it help at all?

 

[Yooper]

The fermentation seems strong. Lots of bubbles (in the wine itself).

I wondered when I was making this why it wasn't necessary to agitate it a lot to get the oxygen count higher right before I pitched the yeast..

If I have an air lock, will stirring it help at all?

Usually, there is enough bubbling with just the fermentation going on and the napkin cover to give it enough oxygen. There are plenty of fermentables in there, so I haven't really had any issues with stressed yeast. If you have it airlocked, it'll still be fine.

 

[dash14251]

Yoop, can i use montrachet yeast with this recipe?

if so whats the rule with how much nutrient?

 

[Yooper]

Sure, you can use it. You probably don't need any extra nutrient; 1 tsp per gallon is still enough.

 

[dash14251]

awesome. also i want to make 6 gallons, can i simply multiply everything in the recipe by 6 and be good to go?

will i need 2 packs yeast or would that be too much?

 

[Yooper]

Sure, multiply everything by 6, except the yeast. One pack is enough.

 

[dbr]

I'm curious, what does leaving it covered with a napkin for 12 hours before pitching yeast do?

Thanks.