Wine needs something...

[Themattstokes]

Hello all. I’m not too sure what I’m asking here but have just bottled up my first attempt at wine using fruit juices. Although it tastes ok, it seems somewhat “watery”. I know that sounds silly but I feel it needs, not thickening up as such, but needs a bit of body. That make sense?

 

[Maylar]

Recipe please?

 

[Themattstokes]

2 litres of apple and raspberry fruit juice. Mug of black tea. Wine yeast, yeast nutrient. Sugar. Topped up with water to 4.5 litres. Could be not enough juice in the first place but looks good, doesn’t taste too bad but just a bit “watery”

 

[Maylar]

If it was bottled grocery store juice, then it wouldn't need any water.

 

[Themattstokes]

That’s probably where I’ve gone wrong. I’ll go again. I’ve read about adding glycerine. Thoughts?

 

[Maylar]

Have you stabilized it yet with sorbate? If not you could add more juice and ferment it again.

 

[Neeb]

Grape juice is already at least 25% thicker than any apple variety. I would probably never add water to anything other than grape (and only 25% dilution if so, since sugar will thicken it even more-so.) The tea probably diluted it a bit also. What Maylar suggested am sure is efficient, maybe add grape juice to it? Also brown sugar makes a thicker wine but you probably would have to age it longer for it to taste okay. I tried molasses in a wine before so I have developed some trauma to that specific taste. So probably using a light brown sugar would be great and you would not have to age it as long compared to regular or dark brown sugar.

From what I have searched on glycerin it is one of the best substances to use in an airlock. Although, I have also read that it is not fully digested and can be harmful. That is just what I have read, has nothing to do with it being true.

Anyway I am a beginner so take what I have proposed with a grain of salt.

 

[Coffee49]

Looks like you ended up adding .4 L of water to top off, during primary topping off generally is not necessary do to the c02 emissions blanketing the o2 action. I would transfer to a larger vessel and add more apple juice, motts natural is good then let go for 3 weeks, juices take 1-2 years to mature, I use the 3 week-3 month-4 month- add so2 6 month. A three racking aging will allow all suspension to settle out and make a good final product

 

[ChrisThomas]

Was the fruit juice "made from concentrate" or freshly pressed\pure juice? If it was from cencentrate then you usually have to double up the juice quantities to get same effect as pure juice.

 

[Themattstokes]

Yes, from concentrate.

 

[Themattstokes]

Thanks for all your input. Still very new to this. Will take everything on board and go again. I’m also going to struggle with the waiting bit after bottling!!

 

[ChrisThomas]

The rough reciepe I follow for 1 gallon, is 2-3 litres of fruit juice (pure fruit juice from the chilled cabinet), 800 - 1000g sugar, yeast nutrient, pectolase. Variations to that are 1 cup of strong tea and citric acid. NEVER top up to one gallon immediately, leave room for the fermentation, sometimes you'll get several inches of foam, you can top up once the initial vigour dies down.

I vary the sugar depending on the SG of the fruit juice and the final wine I want. Similar for the tanin and citric acid, certainly for summer drinking chilled wine I think it needs both the tanin and acid, not so much in the winter. Also depends on the type of fruit juice you use. We're a fan of Apple and Apple + Mango all year round but the flavour varies significantly between batches. You can always add dried tanin and acid after you've finished the fermentation to taste.

 

[bernardsmith]

Here's the secret: If you enjoy the juice before you add yeast then adding water simply dilutes the flavor and produces a wine with mouthfeel that approaches water. If the juice, before you pitch the yeast tastes too fruity for you then dilute the juice with water. Mouthfeel is a function of the proteins in the fruit, the residual sugars that are left unfermented (either because the yeast cannot or has not fermented them or because you have stabilized the wine and added more sugars after fermentation has ceased. Mouthfeel is also a function of tannins- the compounds in the fruit (or compounds you have added) that give the wine a certain astringency. The more a wine coats your tongue and mouth and the longer it takes the liquid to slide down your throat because of its viscosity , the greater the "mouthfeel". Water has virtually no viscosity compared to glycerine.

In my book, water is best used for cleaning and not for wine making unless you are working with concentrates. Fruit juice is in and of itself not a concentrate so why dilute it? If the problem is that you cannot afford o purchase enough fruit to make the wine you want then my advice (for what it's worth) is make a smaller volume of wine. There is no law that requires a home wine maker to make 5 or 6 gallons of flavored water wine if they can make 1 gallon of fruit wine. .