Welch's wine

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I’ve got two 1 gallon carboys with grape juice fermenting. One fancy free range silly expensive concord juice and one gallon of cheap big box store house brand concord.

R56 yeast in both, same OG, etc.
started on 4/20

Just a test really.

Smells like wine, curious to see if there is a difference.
 
I wonder if there will be any difference after ferment? To me a concord is a concord is a concord.

Our new vineyard has a section of concord we made juice from last fall. The expensive juice tasted like the juice we made. Only way to describe it is more complex. The cheap juice tastes more like candy. This test is to see if it is worth making wine from our grapes this fall. The cheap concord is just for fun.
 
Do I need to add sulfites prior to bottling? (I never do for any of my ciders...and my preference would be NO for this too [emoji2])

My plan is to use D47, raise SG to the 1.13 range using only FGJC & let it ferment till the yeast reaches its alcohol tolerance around 14%...which is where my faux ice ciders stop on their own.

Cheers[emoji111]

I am not planning on adding sulfites. I figure both the Sam's 100% Concord & 100% FGJC have VitC added (~130% per serving) -- so I'm guessing this should provide sufficient antioxidants -- time will tell.

Cheers!
 
Ok fellow Welchers [emoji57]

Looking for feedback on aging & improvement to your vino. When are you experiencing peak taste for this bad boy? (...for this initial batch - tasted pretty dang good right after I cold crashed & racked...)

Cheers [emoji111]
 
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If I don't add sulfites, it peaks about 3 weeks after bottling. With sulfites, it keeps improving for 6 months to a year. But I have an awfully small sample size at this point because I don't make it very often.
 
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]
 
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 :)
 
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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.
 
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
 
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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.
 
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’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.
 
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]
 
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]
 
Have done a Bunch of sampling direct from Speidel over the last month -- just bottled & ended up with 19bottles + 1red solo cup [emoji111]
0608191042.jpeg
 
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
 
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]
 
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.
 
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]
 
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!
 
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.
 
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]
 
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?
 
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.
 
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?
 
No water, the white grape is not concentrate.
You'll need a 2 gallon bucket for primary, and more than a gallon for secondary.
 
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