Abv

[cmcca27966]

I have 2 wines and my Starting points were 1.110 and 1.120 they are both at what seems to be .985. i am using red star wine pasteur red yeast which is supposed to die at 14%.

Both of these wines are a month old and I degassed them and tasted both they taste sweet and very high in alcohol. They are both degassed and i will try to age then for a couple of months and bottle them.

Am I on the right track. Will the taste have more body with aging?

Sorry about all the questions but you folks seem to have all the right answers here!!!

 

[Loner]

I have 2 wines and my Starting points were 1.110 and 1.120 they are both at what seems to be .985. i am using red star wine pasteur red yeast which is supposed to die at 14%.

Both of these wines are a month old and I degassed them and tasted both they taste sweet and very high in alcohol. They are both degassed and i will try to age then for a couple of months and bottle them.

Am I on the right track. Will the taste have more body with aging?

Sorry about all the questions but you folks seem to have all the right answers here!!!

What method did you use to degas ?

 

[Duster]

1.120 to .985 should yield about 17.5 to 18%. However if the reading is truly 0.985 then it should not taste sweet.
What kind of wine is it, The dryest I have ever had a wine go is 0.990 I guess .985 if possible depending on the kind of wine.

 

[vernsgal]

are you reading your hydrometer correctly? I have never seen it go below .990.Are these kits?

 

[seth8530]

Most hydro meters do not read below .990. You might want to double check your measurement. .Maybe you mean 1.0985?

 

[cmcca27966]

The Hydro only goes to .990 but its below that and I estimated...

 

[cmcca27966]

I degassed with a 1.5 vacuum pump

 

[jswordy]

I'd guess your actual ABV at about 14%. The yeast apparently died and left some residual sweetness in the wine. The "high alcohol taste" is because it is new wine and the alcohol is raw. The taste will round off as the wine improves with age.

You do not say what fruits are in the wines. Some wines mature earlier than others, but as a general rule all improve in 6 months. Some fruits take up to 2 years to really begin to be at their best, and of course the process continues after that for a varying degree of optimal time depending on your fruit.

The very best way to add body to a wine is at the beginning, by using an all juice from the fruit approach or by adding as much fruit per gallon as you can.

If you feel the wine still needs body as bottling time approaches, you can use chopped raisins in stabilized wine in secondary but they may change the flavor for better or worse. Or you can add glycerin but it can impart a sweet taste and/or heighten the sweetening effect of sugar. You can also promote body by adding sugar, but it will of course sweeten the wine.

If I were you, I would plan to rack 2 more times and age in the carboy (bulk) for 3 months total, then rack to a clean carboy and bottle directly from that. Take very small samples with a wine thief before each racking to taste how it is coming, and you will pretty much see the direction any amendments must take prior to bottling. You are on the right track, just be patient.

 

[robie]

High alcohol along with the right acid level can taste sweet. If it is dry, based on the SG reading, it does not have enough sugar left in it to cause it to be sweet.

 

[seth8530]

The Hydro only goes to .990 but its below that and I estimated...

Did you fortify the wine? What is the temperature of the wine? What does the hydrometer measure in water?

 

[cmcca27966]

Just wanted to tell you all that the hydrometer was bad..ugh...anyway i wound up bottling it and it came out to 1.010 which is in the neighborhood of 13%...Not bad for a first try with welches..lol. The wine tastes really good but has this hint of grape juice flavor(slight bit). I have been sipping it for about a week.
I have 3 kits bulk aging right now.

 

[knockabout]

2 points for Seth!

 

[seth8530]

Thanks for following up with us. It always makes us get the warm and fuzzy wine.feelings when we get to see if our advice was.correct... good luck with the wine.