grape wines

I started a recipe I found on this site 6lbs grapes,3.25c sugar, 1tsp yeast nutrient, 1 pkg. wine yeast, 5 pints h2o, 1 tsp p.e., 1 crushed campden tab., followed distructions did not do initial s.g. did my second racking and my s.g. is 0.990 any help would be appreciated

Do you plan to sweeten the wine? If so, add sorbate. If not, make sure it is topped up and set it aside until crystal clear then bottle.

What kind of help are you looking for - just what to do next??

If you started with whole grapes, have now fermented the juice that came out of them to dryness (0.990) and have racked twice -- once from primary to secondary and now from secondary off it's sediment - the next step is stabilization if you haven't done that yet and any final clearing needed.

You should also take some time to stir the heck out of the wine to degass -- drive off the CO2 to aid final clearing. Also reduces the "fizzy" sensation when drinking the wine, fizzy is good in champagne but not so desirable in table wine.


Depending on how long ago you started the wine, it may be time now to add another crushed campden tablet. Now that it's done fermenting there's no active generation of CO2 to protect the wine from oxidation. Topping up also protects the wine by reducing the surface area exposed to oxygen.

Clearing can be hastened with "fining" agents, or let time do the trick. Repeat rackings at periodic intervals, add campden every 3 months, and when you've racked it and a month or two later there is still no new sediment then it's done clearing (as long as it's also actually "clear" ).

If you've done all that (degassed and have clear wine) and it's just "done" - then decide whether you want to sweeten it, and by how much - go slowly with sweetening additions because it's easy to add too much. Add sorbate and campden, together, when sweetening to inhibit referementation and then you either bottle it, or let it bulk age and then bottle it. Filtering is optional but best done just prior to bottling.



Now, I have a question -- What kind of grapes did you use???

Steve B submitted this to be posted as he was having an issue with it posting


I went to meijers and was going to get concord grapes but they were 1.30 per lb. so I got some red ones that were 89per lb. its still not clear, still settleing the wife says its not smooth and its more tart than bitter and that I should try some of her store bought that she has in the fridge. I might be gone for a while ,,,, ok I'm back store bought is deffinatly better its also harder to type straight but what do I do now and what did I do wrong, should I add sugar to sweeten and increase A.C., should I wait thhers not as many bubbles coming up and I have not stirred.

With generic red grapes, not necessarily intended for winemaking, there's probably a higher acid content than one would like, hence the tart flavor. The sugar content of the grapes was probably lower than a wine grape would be, and only 3.25c of sugar - it's not going to be very high alcohol level. If it's done fermenting at 0.990, then adding more sugar now might not induce any additional fermentation especially if you've racked twice.

Sweetening the wine will compensate for the tartness, and will make it palatable sooner - if you like sweeter wines. If you like them dry - there's a few things you might do to this batch to help it along.

I have made wine from grapes we grow, and a neighbors grapes, both concord type cold hardy grapes so I've had similar challenges. I've used Potassium Bicarbonate to lower the acidity a bit, added oak which does help smooth it out, and added tannin as well.

Very young wine which is still clearing, and made from grapes such as you used, won't taste "right" right away - but given some time (and I don't mean forever, just a few more months will improve it greatly), they've turned out pretty ok but never as good as store bought "real" wine.

With my backyard grape wines, I drank the first batch all within 3 months so I don't know how good that one could get. Another batch I've had bottled for 4 months now and it was not smooth, and tart when it went into the bottle and is beginning to mellow now - so there is hope. I was ready to dump this one out of despair but trusted that if I bottled it and set it aside, it might get good - and I could always dump it out of the bottles later, or use them as decorative accents (or gifts) if nothing else.

Let it clear some more. Stirring it to degas will help it clear. Toss in a Tablespoon or two of oak chips (from a wine supply store, not from the wood pile! ) and give it 10 days to 2 weeks on the oak and additional clearing time and try it again. The tartness will mellow even without you doing anything to that, but if it's really puckery you could use the potassium bicarbonate (and wait a few weeks for it to 'work' - works best if you can also chill the wine to help drop out the acid crystals that can form).

Don't give up yet. In 3, 4 or even 6 months you could have something special - different, but special.

pelican said:

With my backyard grape wines, I drank the first batch all within 3 months so I don't know how good that one could get. Another batch I've had bottled for 4 months now and it was not smooth, and tart when it went into the bottle and is beginning to mellow now - so there is hope. I was ready to dump this one out of despair but trusted that if I bottled it and set it aside, it might get good -

Click to expand...

I saw you posted again about this batch - and I replied there too, but wanted to give you an update on this batch I mentioned here above.

This was a blend of my neighbors backyard concord type grapes, and a can of Alexander's Pinot Noir Concentrate.

We opened a bottle last night, and Mr. Pelican didn't even make his customary "ooh, needs more age" face. It HAD smoothed out considerably and so...

THERE IS HOPE! Let it get some age in the bottle and revisit your opinion a little ways down the road.

Good luck! and don't despair even if this batch isn't stellar, you will have learned a lot.

Ok so how do I sweeten, I have topped up and am in no real hurry. So I think I'll start a new batch but this time I'mm going to use better ingredients and try for 5 gallons and maybe when its time to bottle the second I'll taste the first

Just make a simple syrup of sugar and water, a bit less water than sugar, and boil it till it's clear, then cool. Slow add a little bit of syrup at a time, stir well and taste after each addition - it is really easy to go from "not quite sweet enough" to "uggh! too sweet" so repeated small additions are recommended till you get it just right, or just about right.

You could also sweeten with frozen grape concentrate, ie Welches or similar, which will also add some fruity flavor along with the bit of sweetness. Unless you like wine really sweet - an SG of 1.002 or so will give it that hint of sweetness (I don't like sweet wines, but a bit off-dry can bit nice at times... go by your own preferences!!)

PS more details from other folks under your sugar/sweeting thread - 2 part sugar, 1 part water and don't forget to add both campden/kmeta AND potassium sorbate to ensure the wine doesn't referment on the added sugar.

I wonder ifmalolactic fermentationwould help here? That could bring some of the acidity down assuming there's some malic acid in there right?