Backsweetening process question

[moothusala]

Hi all,

I have a batch of Dragon's Blood bubbling away that I need to backsweeten in a week or so. This leads me to a question (tried to search and didn't find anything, maybe my google-foo is weak):

When backsweetening with granulated sugar do I make a simple syrup first or do I just dump in the sugar and stir like hell until its dissolved?

 

[blackspanish777]

When adding sugar I always try and make a simple syrup. However, reading Dave's recipe it says to add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Has anyone else made the simple syrup to backsweeten DB? I too am now curious as I am backsweetening mine this weekend.

 

[bkisel]

I normally make a simple syrup (SS) but for DB have simply poured in the sugar and stirred as per the directions.

My thinking is that if your SS is truly just that and not a converted sugar syrup (you know like with lemon added to convert some of the sugar) then what you've accomplished is just making it easier to blend the sugar into the wine. That is to say less stirring required.

I've a friend whose wine has a great reputation and following among family and friends and he only uses sugar by its self. Just before bottling he racks to a bucket, takes out maybe a liter or two of wine, adds some sugar stirs and tastes. The process is repeated until the right taste (no hydrometer!) is obtained. The wine taken out is used to kind of fine tune near the end of the process.

 

[bkisel]

Oops! Meant to post elsewhere.

 

[cmason1957]

I make a quasi simple syrup. I take out some wine (half gallon or more) and set aside. I then put my sugar into something big enough to hold it with plenty of extra space, then add about half as much wine as sugar. Dissolve the sugar fairly well then add to the carboy. Top up with removed wine. As a side note, every thing the wine touches gets a good spritz of k-meta.

I do bench trials in 100 ml samples of the wine to determine how much sugar to add.

 

[salcoco]

sugar syrup is the best method. use two cup sugar to ne cup water in a blender. let clear and use in a bench trial to determine quantity to add to bulk wine. if wine is cold dissolving sugar can take a while. I am to old to keep stirring

 

[vernsgal]

I use 1 part wine( whatever I'm wanting to sweeten) to 2 parts sugar. Heat on stove ( not to boiling) then allow it to cool some before adding. I found heating the sugar dissolves it completely and I get an accurate reading.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Siphon a small amount of wine out of your carboy. Place in a sauce pan and put on the very lowest heat on your stove. Add the amount of sugar needed to raise your wine to the desired specific gravity.

You can dissolve twice the amount of sugar into one half the amount of wine. For example you can dissolve a maximum of one cup of sugar into 1/2 cup of wine. However it will dissolve better with more wine.

With the heat on the lowest setting possible, stir frequently until all the sugar is converted into the wine. Once the sugar dissolves you'll see white spirals spinning around in the wine leave the heat on until that is completely gone.

Turn the heat off and leave the pan on the burner. Keep in mind you are not heating or boiling the wine, just merely warming it slightly to aid in the inversion of the sugar.

After a few minutes you may siphon that wine back into the carboy. This process converts sugar (sucrose) into fructose and glucose. Make sure the wine is well blended, then check your specific gravity again.

Remember to add sorbate to your wine, allow to rest a few weeks, then you may bottle if refermentation does not occur.

 

[StoneCreek]

I've made two batches of DB and have used a simple syrup solution to both right before bottling. Of course, I used the sorbate when the recipe called for it witch I think was a week or two before I bottled. I used one part water to 2 parts sugar simmered on the stove until the sugar dissolved completely and the solution turned clear. I also allowed the solution to cool before adding to the DB. I sweeten to taste then take a SG reading to duplicate for the next batch.

 

[Turock]

We also make a syrup by using wine. Toss it in the microwave--stir--repeat as necessary until it's all dissolved. Easy peasey.

 

[blackspanish777]

Hey guys does anyone have the chart that says what range you should raise your SG to for the different sweetnesses?


Making wine in South Texas since March 2014

Cibolo Creek Cellars

Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/cibolocreekfarms

 

[vernsgal]

Hey guys does anyone have the chart that says what range you should raise your SG to for the different sweetnesses?


Making wine in South Texas since March 2014

Cibolo Creek Cellars

Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/cibolocreekfarms

not sure if this is what you're looking for but try this
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/backsweetening-s-g-chart-10886/

also I found this somewhere but didn't mark the link

less than and up to 1.000 - Dry - 1
1.000 to 1.010 - Med Dry - 2
1.010 to 1.020 - Med Sweet - 3
1.020 to 1.030 - sweet - 4
1.030 to 1.040 - dessert - 5

Also from the British Columbia Liquor Board:
you will need to convert

0 - very dry - 0 to 5 grams of sugar per liter
1-2 - off dry - 5 to 25 g per l
3-4 - medium - 25 to 45 g perl
5-6 - Sweet - 45-65 g per l
7-10 - Very Sweet - 65-105 g per l

 

[jojabri]

I have only done simple syrups when back sweetening db. 3/8 cup water and 3/4 cup water per gallon. Do the math for however many gallons your batch is.

 

[Turock]

I dislike the charts on what constitutes a dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, or sweet wine. They really tell you nothing. It's very dependent on how much acid we're trying to balance, and how delicate or bold the wine is and whether it has appreciable tannin.

You can take a tannic wine and sweeten it to the same SG of a less tannic wine and people will tell you the tannic wine is more dry. When you have a wine of 3.2 PH, it will taste less sweet even with a bit higher SG. You just have to bench test for your tolerance to acid and sweetness. You want to have that sweet/tart sensation hit your tongue. You don't want to sweeten so high that you make the acid disappear because the flavor will go down and the wine will taste flat.

Delicate wines need less sugar to balance things out so you don't mask the flavor. Sweetening wine isn't about making wine sweet. It's about pulling the flavor out while respecting the balance that acid plays in the wine.

 

[NorCal]

I have only done simple syrups when back sweetening db. 3/8 cup water and 3/4 cup water per gallon. Do the math for however many gallons your batch is.

Seeing how you make a ton of this type of wine, I'm interested in your answer: was one of your measurements suppose to be sugar? If so, which one?