Welch's wine

[bmd2k1]

Not gonna make it that long...lol. I'm prob gonna shoot for 6months -- time will tell. [emoji111]

Tell ya what -- 10days into bulk aging & this batch is awesome! Not sure how it could possibly improve. It's fruit forward...smooth & extremely tasty with a great grape aroma [emoji111] 13% ABV and No hint of alcohol harshness whatsoever [emoji57]

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Glad to hear it! Welch's wine gets a back rap. It really can be quite nice if you do it right.

 

[bmd2k1]

Glad to hear it! Welch's wine gets a back rap. It really can be quite nice if you do it right.

Amen! Will now be a part of my regular rotation.

Reminds me of a great vino from 2lads near Traverse City MI - Rola Red - which is a cab franc aged in stainless.

Cheers & thanks for the feedback/insights

 

[z-bob]

I just racked 4 gallons that's about done to a new carboy, and added 5 Campden tablets. Not sure how long I should let it age before I bottle it; will probably go a month. This was 5 bottles of Aldi's Concord grape juice and 3 bottles of Aldi white grape juice, plus however much sugar it took to getto 22 brix (I should write stuff like that down because I never can remember) Fermax yeast nutrient and BV7 yeast. The BV7 seems to be taking a lot of the color with it as it drops out of suspension, so this will be kind of a rosé even tho' it was dark purple at the start.

At the first racking I had about a pint left in the bottom of the bucket, so I dumped it crud-and-all into a mason jar and put it in the fridge for a couple days to cold crash. It tasted pretty good when it cleared. I could have stabilized it right then and bottled it a week later and been happy with it.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Wait, your purple grape juice more or less cleared?!? I know you mixed in white grape juice too but I wouldn’t think it would make that huge a difference. I’m thinking about doing a batch of grape juice soon. But I also still have a few bottles of black currant juice to play with, maybe I’ll try the black currant black pepper wine that i saw on YouTube

 

[Blacksmith1]

cleared does not mean it lost it's color. It means it can be seen thru unlike it being still clouded up with yeast.

 

[z-bob]

cleared does not mean it lost it's color. It means it can be seen thru unlike it being still clouded up with yeast.

True. But I think he's talking about me saying a lot of the purple dropped out with the yeast. It's still purplish; darker than a rose' but lighter than a red, and it may lighten more in bulk storage before I bottle it. I'll try to remember to take a pic at bottling time. It's hard to judge the color in a carboy, especially a green carboy.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Yes, I mean as you can see through it, not being colorless.

 

[z-bob]

Yes, I mean as you can see through it, not being colorless.

It's not colorless by any means. But it's a lot less colored that it started out.

 

[Seamonkey84]

I’m kinda curious how much white grape juice would be needed to get it to clear to a Rosé, or if it’s really that strain of yeast that is doing it.

 

[z-bob]

I’m kinda curious how much white grape juice would be needed to get it to clear to a Rosé, or if it’s really that strain of yeast that is doing it.

I've mixed red and white juice 50:50 before and had it come out red. This is about 63:37 red, and it's turning out much lighter. So it must be the yeast. On some red wine yeast varieties, I've seen where it says it preserves the color; the only reason they'd mention that is if some don't.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Cool, good to know. Btw, I think your AV is creepy as hell lol.

 

[bmd2k1]

Gonna bottle my 1st batch of 100% Concord next week. Had friends over for tasting & bbq last weekend -- everyone loved my "hobovino" aka Igors Diabolical Uva Potion [emoji111]

 

[bmd2k1]

Next Welch's vino will be a combo Concord & Niagara. Not sure yet what ratio I'm gonna go for.

Anyone have ratio suggestions they've tried & really enjoyed?

Cheers [emoji111]

 

[bmd2k1]

Have done a Bunch of sampling direct from Speidel over the last month -- just bottled & ended up with 19bottles + 1red solo cup [emoji111]

 

[Blacksmith1]

I've been wanting to do one of these and after reading a post on apple ice wines using FAJC I decided to do this.

6-19-19 concord ice wine
In two gallon bucket
2 cans old orchard concord
96 oz welch's concord
2+ cups sugar
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 tsp nutrient/energizer
Added water to drop OG (was 1.132)
71b yeast
Og 1116

 

[Dralarms]

Not gonna make it that long...lol. I'm prob gonna shoot for 6months -- time will tell. [emoji111]

Need to make a big enough batch to let it age 6 months to a year. It really gets good then.

 

[bmd2k1]

Need to make a big enough batch to let it age 6 months to a year. It really gets good then.

I've got about 6 750ml bottles left from my 5gal batch -- it's been awesome since day1 [emoji111]

Need to fire up a new batch soon!

Prob my fav vino [emoji57]

Cheers [emoji111]

 

[Seamonkey84]

Does this have any of the “foxy” taste that I keep reading about from Concord grapes? I drink the juice just fine, the grapes themselves leave more of a astringent waxy feel in my mouth.

 

[bmd2k1]

Does this have any of the “foxy” taste that I keep reading about from Concord grapes? I drink the juice just fine, the grapes themselves leave more of a astringent waxy feel in my mouth.

None whatsoever! [emoji111]

 

[bmd2k1]

I just opened a bottle of white Welches, almost 2 years in the bottle. It is 16% and as good as any wine I have bought.

I don't know what really expensive wines taste line, but this one is very smooth. I am more than pleased with it. I think I need to make another batch just so it will start aging.

Ever had any issues fermenting the white Niagara - all the bottles & frozen concentrate I've come across have sulfites in 'em.

Cheers!

 

[Seamonkey84]

The Sulfites I’ve been seeing is the same as the Campden tablets (potassium metabisulfite) that we use. Just let the juice degas for a day before pitching yeast. Any Sorbate should definitely be avoided.

 

[bmd2k1]

The Sulfites I’ve been seeing is the same as the Campden tablets (potassium metabisulfite) that we use. Just let the juice degas for a day before pitching yeast. Any Sorbate should definitely be avoided.

Alrighty.....thx! [emoji111]

 

[bmd2k1]

Happy 4th July all [emoji111][emoji631]

Cheers!

 

[Seamonkey84]

After a month or so since I started drinking wine, I’ve found I like the medium to full bodied Cabernets. I know it’s prob a big difference, but before I start mixing stuff, how does this type of wine compare? Any way to make this anything like a Cab? Thoughts about blending concord with tart cherry or black currant juices?

 

[Blacksmith1]

Try this, from my brewlog;
6/1/19
3 12oz cans old orchard grape fjc. or other concord.
96 oz whelches white grape juice
3 lbs(approx) mixed frozen fruit. Strawberries, blue berries, dark sweet and tart red cherries, blackberries and razzberries. ( puree'd)
1-1/4 tsp super ferment.
3/4 tsp pectic enzyme.

6/2/19 OG 1.120. pitched k1-v1116. half water, half must, room temp starter left for abt an hr.

6/3/19 enough activity to bring puree to top.

6/10/19 stirred daily for 4-5 days. Let sit. Stirred today. Ferment slowed.
Strained/Racked to secondary. Tastes like a commercial red.
Will rack and filter in 1 month.

7/2/19 racked and filtered w/campden

This tastes similar to a cab merlot or carmenere. At least so far. I'll have to wait to see how it ages out.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Thank you very much! Is this using the frozen concentrate as is for about one gallon total? or is the concentrate actually diluted and mixed with water as instructed first?

 

[Blacksmith1]

No water, the white grape is not concentrate.
You'll need a 2 gallon bucket for primary, and more than a gallon for secondary.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Gotcha, thanks, I’ll prob give this blend a shot over just plain juice.

 

[Blacksmith1]

If you have a fine mesh brew bag for the fruit, use it.