Welch's Grape Juice Wine

[LoneTreeFarms]

I've tried the old orchard apple cherry. it tastes like a white zin, but was horrible for quite a while before it mellowed. i would skip the acid blend on that one. i've not tried the liquid juice but the few attempts with frozen have all turned out great!

 

[mikez104]

So, I made my first batch of this. It fermented like crazy and has gone from 1.110 to .991 in 5 days which is good but it looks very strange. It almost looks the same color as ketchup. Is this normal? I put the airlock on it and it is happily bubbling once every 20 or 30 seconds now. Has not showed any signs of clearing.

 

[Yooper]

So, I made my first batch of this. It fermented like crazy and has gone from 1.110 to .991 in 5 days which is good but it looks very strange. It almost looks the same color as ketchup. Is this normal? I put the airlock on it and it is happily bubbling once every 20 or 30 seconds now. Has not showed any signs of clearing.

It'll clear- don't worry! Sometimes it takes a while, but 5 days is way too soon to have it clear anywah.

 

[gicts]

have u noticed a difference in the frozen concentrate or regular unfrozen welchs juice any diffrence in taste/acidity

X2. I'm guessing it would need to be 100% juice and no water or juice and concentrate, but I am interested as well. There appears to be a wider selection of premade juice flavors.

 

[mikez104]

It'll clear- don't worry! Sometimes it takes a while, but 5 days is way too soon to have it clear anywah.

Cool. The color just had me a bit concerned. We'll wait and see what happens.

 

[mikez104]

Just curious, how long should it take to clear? Right now it is airlocked but not topped off. Still no sign of clearing.

 

[Yooper]

Just curious, how long should it take to clear? Right now it is airlocked but not topped off. Still no sign of clearing.

Once it's done fermenting, it'll clear. It won't clear until it's finished.

 

[coryt415]

Just curious, how long should it take to clear? Right now it is airlocked but not topped off. Still no sign of clearing.

Hit it with a full dose of betonite after it stops fermenting then wait a week or two mine turned crystal clear..didnt pack to tightly and was hard to not pick up any when racking..so i sweetened and put it back into the glass for another weeks and went straight into bottles..that is if your impatient like i was first time. I just started another without any acid blend and gonna use montrachet(pitch it tommarrow) hopeing for a slower fermentation with the montrachet and its getting cold (67F) in a few rooms gonna compare the two when there done see if it makes any difference and a little lower alc content went for 11% this time (ran out of sugar) lol good luck

 

[McCuckerson]

Once it's done fermenting, it'll clear. It won't clear until it's finished.

Hey Yoop, what would happen if you used ale yeast for this? Just wondering.

 

[gicts]

I can never leave a good recipe alone....has anyone oaked a batch?

 

[Yooper]

Hey Yoop, what would happen if you used ale yeast for this? Just wondering.

I have no idea- I've never used ale yeast for any of my wines. Sorry!

 

[gicts]

Finally got around to making a 5 gallon batch last night. One of the frozen containers hit the floor and spilt. Looked like a bloody crime scene. I'll keep everyone updated on how it turnes out. Og was a little high at 1.14ish and i added a little cranberry juice for flavor. I am still dying to know how it ages and if anyone has tried oak.

 

[coryt415]

Finally got around to making a 5 gallon batch last night. One of the frozen containers hit the floor and spilt. Looked like a bloody crime scene. I'll keep everyone updated on how it turnes out. Og was a little high at 1.14ish and i added a little cranberry juice for flavor. I am still dying to know how it ages and if anyone has tried oak.

Hey i made one 6 gal and got another on the way but it must be good b/c i only have like 8 bottles out of 30 left some ppl like it some dont. i only used half the acid last time and thought it was tart so this time i added none so might be a diffrence might not.. either way its pretty good cant complain good luck

 

[coryt415]

oh btw the only thing i have noticed is the alcohol does calm down very quickly when i first bottled it there was a burn going down...after about a month in the bottle its gone.but mine was only 12% my og was 1.090ish but i did no bulk aging once it was done and cleared it got bottled. there was alittle sediemnt in bottles but hey it was my first wine batch so ill know next time

 

[gicts]

Transferred it from the primary today. It smelt so much like Big League Chew! Some how I came up half a gallon short (I think the carboy is actually a 6 gallon...can't really tell with the better bottles) so I topped off with a Welch's White Grape and Raspberry. We'll see

 

[Schlenkerla]

I have 2 gal of White Raspberry Welches cranking away with Cotes De Blanc....

OMFG - I have to keep it in the bathroom with fan going 24/7. Its smelling like an old betching & farting alcoholic.

Its passing gas at 2 bubbles a second. Been doing so since Saturday 12/6....

 

[ill_fate]

I completed this recipe in a 5 gallon batch. My o.g. was about 1.06 but I didn't want to add any more sugar. Instead I used honey to about 1.08. I allowed 30 days in secondary and didn't sweeten before bottling. The result is a fruity, semi-dry wine, with honey hints. This is good table wine and works for cheap holiday celebrations. Thanks for another good recipe!

 

[ill_fate]

Hey i made one 6 gal and got another on the way but it must be good b/c i only have like 8 bottles out of 30 left some ppl like it some dont. i only used half the acid last time and thought it was tart so this time i added none so might be a diffrence might not.. either way its pretty good cant complain good luck

I don't think oak compliments concord wine but I have yet to try, and was also curious. Anyone try adding oak chips to a concord recipe?

 

[sagnew440]

I just got done making a 2.5 gal batch of this with two cans of the concord grape and two 64oz containers of langers 100% white grape juice. I also used 71B-1122. We'll see how it turns out!

 

[steinbacher682]

I know this thread is kinda old and maybe dead, but to answer peoples questions about using liquid welches, I just finished bottling 15 bottles using the liquid welches 100% juice. It came out nice. I didnt use any pectic enzyme or yeast nutrient, yet it still worked. it tastes about the quality of and is about the same color as a Charles Shaw White Zinfandel. Not bad. My mother came to visit and she couldn't tell the difference between 2 buck Chuck and the welch's. of course, shes not a professional, but she likes her wine, and for about a $1 per bottle, thats pretty impressive.

 

[Yooper]

I know this thread is kinda old and maybe dead, but to answer peoples questions about using liquid welches, I just finished bottling 15 bottles using the liquid welches 100% juice. It came out nice. I didnt use any pectic enzyme or yeast nutrient, yet it still worked. it tastes about the quality of and is about the same color as a Charles Shaw White Zinfandel. Not bad. My mother came to visit and she couldn't tell the difference between 2 buck Chuck and the welch's. of course, shes not a professional, but she likes her wine, and for about a $1 per bottle, thats pretty impressive.

the thread isn't dead. Thanks for your input!

 

[steinbacher682]

as you can see, I am basically brand new on this forum and Ive only made a few batches of wine, but since I've tried what people have asked, I figured it was worth sharing. So, anyone who has advice or criticism to share, my ears (and eyes in this case) are always open.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

welcome steinbacher! glad you've found a good and cheap recipe to enjoy with others. keep looking around there are tons of them around here! just batched a 5 gallon batch of apfelwein last night!

 

[steinbacher682]

is the apfelwein good? ive been wanting to try it, but if id like the regular stuff more, id rather invest time in traditional grape wines. (if using welch's is even close to counting as traditional) just curious, can you use straight grape juice without the dilution to make a red? Im sorry, im new at this. also, id be into using real grapes if i had the time and money to invest in all that stomping and pressing. unfortunately, i have neither. Ive made Kbac (Kvass), this welch's wine, a pretty harsh hillbilly moonshine style rum, and a not-too-close-to-store-bought vodka from russet potatoes. the latter two were... strange.. to say the least and honestly, I will probably stay away from it from now on, but im glad I can say I tried it.

 

[Yooper]

is the apfelwein good? ive been wanting to try it, but if id like the regular stuff more, id rather invest time in traditional grape wines. (if using welch's is even close to counting as traditional) just curious, can you use straight grape juice without the dilution to make a red? Im sorry, im new at this. also, id be into using real grapes if i had the time and money to invest in all that stomping and pressing. unfortunately, i have neither. Ive made Kbac (Kvass), this welch's wine, a pretty harsh hillbilly moonshine style rum, and a not-too-close-to-store-bought vodka from russet potatoes. the latter two were... strange.. to say the least and honestly, I will probably stay away from it from now on, but im glad I can say I tried it.

I'm not an apfelwein fan (I don't like ciders much) but I do make wine from apple juice, too. It's similar.

Welch's is made from table grapes, specifically concord. It doesn't have a high enough natural sugar content to make a "real" wine like you'd make from wine grapes. It's more of an "ok" wine drink than a real grape wine. If you want to make real grape wines, an inexpensive kit like one from Winexpert in a varietal you like woud be the way to go. The kits are about $60 and make 30 bottles. I'm made the valpollicella, the shiraz, and a couple of others that I can't remembe right now. Those aren't "great" wines either, but they are pretty good, and better than you can buy at the store for the same price!

 

[steinbacher682]

well i figured the sugar content wasn't high enough and thats why they don't really use it for that, but more specifically, I was wondering if I could jerry rig this recipe to suit the need. i.e. use welch's and add sugar to get the right SG and going from there. obviously, this wouldnt be much of a real wine either, but i was just curious if you could adapt welch's to make, for lack of a better term, a prison hooch red. or would that be just dreadful? and thanks, I'll look into that kit. that sounds interesting.

 

[dlfendley]

Can someone tell me about how long it takes to clear up after adding the yeast? I'm curious what the total fermentation time will end up being. I know it varies based on temperature, etc. I'm just looking for a ballpark number. Thanks

 

[steinbacher682]

i made it and it took like 10-12 days to furment to the ABV that i wanted so i refridgerated it and then it took about 2-2.5 weeks to finally get clear. i had to rack a couple of times though cuz sediment kept showing up at the bottom. but it worked. its pretty good

 

[aljeffryes]

I have a yeast question, I am going to give this a shot tomorrow and was wondering if half a pack of montrechet yeast would be enough for a gallon of wine? sorry if this question has already been asked. Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

I have a yeast question, I am going to give this a shot tomorrow and was wondering if half a pack of montrechet yeast would be enough for a gallon of wine? sorry if this question has already been asked. Thanks!

It might be, but it's ok to pitch the whole package as well. The reason it usually works just to pitch the whole package is because you can't really save opened packages of wine yeast. Once it is opened, it needs to be used up in less than a week or so, so unless you're using the other 1/2 of the package right away in a different batch, you either have to throw it away or use the whole package.