back sweetening

[appleweld]

im unclear on the backsweetening process. do i ferment till dry, then stabalize with k-meta and k-sorbate, then back sweeten to taste, then filter? or filter first? what is the proper order? also, i still need some help on the grapefruit acid level question. thanks in advance.

 

[AlFulchino]

i dont know about the grapefruit...never have made that

typically when you sweeten after a wine had been brought to a level drier than you wish, you would stabilize and add your sugar...some use glycerin which gives you a sweet illusion ( bad word)

make sure your sugar is fully dissolved......

i would rack off all your sediment first...stabilize....sweeten..let sit for 10 or more days to make sure you really like what you have done...and filter prior to bottling

***

if you know what you are shooting for ...then skip the ferment till dry...stop at the sg you like...stabilize and filter

 

[ArdenS]

Another reason to wait, like Al says, is to make sure that fermentation doesn't restart. Having fermentation restart in the bottles can get nasty.

 

[AlFulchino]

right Arden...and i should have made it clear when i said stabilize that i was including the need to add sorbate..thanks for making your post!

 

[appleweld]

im interested in sweetenen a stawberry wine with a holland house daquiry mix. is this possible or just nuts?

 

[AlFulchino]

i would never say nuts to anything until you try it and it fails and you repeat it....THAt would be nuts

go by intuition..AND by measurements so that you can repeat success and alter what you are doing in an orderly fashion

 

[vcasey]

and don't forget to record what you do so if you succeed and you like this wine you can make it again

 

[appleweld]

i sweetened a gallon of strawberry last night. after adding the sulfite and sorbate, i used 16 oz of the daquiry mix. so far it has stayed in suspension well. although, i thing its too sweet. i will try 8 oz in a few days with another gallon.

 

[dragonmaster42]

Assuming the other gallon you mention is also strawberry, you could blend some of the unsweetened wine into the over-sweetened batch to reduce the sweetness in the first one, too.

 

[intoxicating]

When I add sugar to my wild plum port, I pull off two cups of the wine and stir in the measured sugar for 5 minutes. I let what didn't dissolve settle out for 2 or 3 minutes, and pour the syrup into the carboy, leaving undissolved sugar in the measuring cup. Stir carboy gently, repeat with another two cups of wine to dissolve the rest of the sugar, and I haven't diluted my wine with water. It seemed like the sensible thing to do, since I feed it three times during its time in the carboy, and the point is to increase the alcohol level so I don't need to fortify it with store bought spirits. Sometimes I need to warm the wine up to 80 degrees or so to get it to dissolve, but I don't warm it much above that.

 

[intoxicating]

On the subject of artificial sweeteners, STAY AWAY!!!!

God and humans don't recognize them for a reason. The kidneys try to make them LESS toxic by breaking them down into formaldehyde

and

wood alcohol!

Stevia

isn't artificial. I would get it and put a drop into Dad's unsweetened fruit wine, by the glass. Or, try getting a case of 375's or 187's to bottle Dad's stevia sweetened wine. No idea what it might do in the way of off flavors. Most diabetics can't taste sugar, and are so used to the metallic taste of the fake stuff that it might not be an issue for his batch. I used 187 bottles and crown caps to bottle a one gallon batch of sangria, and a gallon of mango-green apple-white grape cooler, and it worked great. Single servings with pop-tops! No left-overs and no pressure to finish the whole bottle.

Glycerin can be purchased made from plants instead of a laboratory, and adds texture and mouth feel, but limited sweetness. Might use a little to correct for the lack of syrup mouth-feel in whatever you use the stevia in.

 

[appleweld]

i like the idea of dissolving the sugar in the wine instead of water. at what stages are you doing this? ive sugared to a high sg to increase alcohol, and ive added some flavored vodka. ill try your idea next.

on the topic of the daquiry mix. it has been stable since i put it in the wine. also the juice has stayed in suspension. i was concered it may settle down. although 16 oz was too much, the samples ive given have been enjoyed. i feel the 8 oz mix will be perfect, but i will update.