backsweeten
- Thread starter juventude
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Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
It is all a matter of taste and there are no set amounts to add per gallon. What is fairly standard is the simple syrup that many people use to back sweeten (2 parts sugar to 1 part water). If you are back sweetening with an f-pack or simple syrup, be sure to sorbate the wine first with 1/2 t of K-sorbate per gallon of wine. Then, measure the SG of the wine. If it is fully fermented to dry it should be in the low 0.990's. Depending on your desired level of sweetness, you can raise the SG with the syrup or f-pack. You will begin to detect a sweet taste at around SG 1.000. How high you go from there is up to you, but bench test with a small quantity first until you get to a taste you like and then scale it up to the full batch. One caution, err on the low side. You can always add more sweetener but it is much harder to subtract. Also, let the wine stay in the carboy for about a week at least after sweetening and before bottling to be sure you do not get re-fermentation. Good luck.
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I don't believe the sweetening would affect the aging time provided that you were sure fermentation had stopped. Aging would be the same for the wine without the back sweetening. Try to age the wine as near to the "ideal conditions" as you can, i.e. 55 degrees F, 75% RH, limit exposure to UV light and do not expose to vibration.
BobF
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Like a lot of other things, winemaking is a combination of science and art. Sweetening aside, any wine needs a combination of things to age well; acidity/pH, preservatives (so2), tannin and body being amongst the most critical. There are ranges of levels for these that are necessary. That is the science part.
Getting these levels in balance with one another so that the wine ends up with the style characteristics you want is the art part.
When you backsweeten, you're adding another artistic variable. Sweetness and acidity need to balanced. You're also adding another science requirement. K-sorbate is required to prevent fermentation of the added sugars.
So, there is no direct answer to the 'How much sweetness' question.
Getting these levels in balance with one another so that the wine ends up with the style characteristics you want is the art part.
When you backsweeten, you're adding another artistic variable. Sweetness and acidity need to balanced. You're also adding another science requirement. K-sorbate is required to prevent fermentation of the added sugars.
So, there is no direct answer to the 'How much sweetness' question.
