Bench trials for backsweetening

[stutzcattle]

I've got 15 gallons of Seyval Blanc and I'd like to backsweeten some of it. Is there a good bench trial for doing this? It's clear and dry and good wine. My wife would like to have some of it a little sweeter.

 

[REDBOATNY]

I sweeten to taste in a small sample, then test with a hydrometer. I use the brix scale. Then add simple syrup (2 cups regular sugar to 1 cup water or wine dissolved over heat) stir in gently until you match the brix measurement you liked. A wine glass is the best way to test, aim for the less sweet side of your liking. It will tend to taste sweeter after being in the bottle because the wine will mellow over time.

 

[BernardSmith]

I think a good rule of thumb is that 2 oz of sugar (50 gms) will raise the gravity of 1 gallon by .005. If you bench test by adding sugar to a large enough samples whose gravity you can measure then it is pretty simple to calculate the total amount of sugar you need to add to 15 gallons (30 oz will raise all 15 gallons approx .005

 

[djrockinsteve]

Put a few cups of wine in a sauce pan. Add 3 ounces (by weight not volume) of sugar and turn on burner to absolute low. Stir often. Your sugar (sucrose) will convert to fructose and glucose. Once the sugar is completely inverted, no sign of any sugar or residue turn burner off. You are not heating you wine just adding a small amount of warmth.

No add your dry wine to a beaker and add a few spoons of inverted sugar/wine. Stir with hydrometer and take a reading. Start at .995. Now taste. If too dry repeat but at .998 or 1.000. Once you find what you like record the reading.

Add all of the unused sugar wine to carboy and stir. Take a reading. Now calculate how much sugar you need to reach the gravity that you like.

Roughly 4 ounces of sugar by WEIGHT will raise 1 gallon of wine .010
To be more specific it's around 3.7 ounces.

If you wine is .992 now and you want it to be 1.002 that means you calculate 4 ounces times 5 (gallons) equals 20 ounces. Again this is slightly high.

Mix up 12-15 ounces of sugar invert into wine, blend and take a reading again. Recalculate and adjust.

It's important to to completely invert the sugar before adding to bulk wine. Undo solved sugar will settle to bottom of carboy.

Remember to add sorbste and sulfite (pinch). Allow to rest a week or two. Bottle

 

[stutzcattle]

Thanks for all the good info. I'm sure this info will help others, as well as me. Good folks here.

 

[salcoco]

A simpler method might be make a sugar syrup solution with 2 cups sugar to 1 cup hot water. mix in a blender let cool. Make four or five measured samples of wine say 1/4 cup=60ml per sample. use the first as a control. add 1/4 tsp-1.25ml to first, 2 X1/4 to second, 3x1/4 to third and so on. Taste, the final measurement tool, to find the level you desire. Sometimes prudent to go one sample more than one that you chose to make sure level of sweetness is what is desired. Calculate using ratio math amount of sugar syrup to add to larger batch. don't forget to add sorbate and k-meta once blend is made. wait one week or so to insure fermentation does not restart. bottle.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I know several people do that but you should not add water to your wine. Once you back sweeten a few times it becomes pretty easy and you will have a good idea what gravity to shoot for.

Juices from the east coast and acidic areas will require more back sweetening than those from less acidic places such as California.

 

[Floandgary]

I usually take a gallon of said wine, put a couple of cups of it in a saucepan and dissolve 3TBSP of sugar (totally and just warm heat per DJRS). Blend thoroughly back in to gallon and let wife taste. She'll tell you when she likes it! THEN check SG and record all amounts. Individual tastes don't always correlate to a specific SG reading. Being that it is a Seyval Blanc, be sure to chill it as you would before serving and enjoy!!

 

[stutzcattle]

Decided to only do 6 gallons right now. I had a carboy of Seyval that I had oaked and wasn't the happiest with. I tested the SG and it was right at .990. After a couple tests we decided that it was best at 1.004. I did the calculations to take it to 1.002 as I assume the wine will soften and it won't need to overcome much of the tartness. After the test solution was poured into the wine it tested at .998. The math says that's a .004 increase in SG. So I added 11 oz of sugar to 4 cups of wine and inverted it. Added it back to the wine, stirred it in and the SG is just shy of 1.002.

Seem right to everyone?

 

[Floandgary]

In the process of backsweetening a Brianna which was stabilized @.993. Had a real tartness thru 2 glassfuls, but tropical (pineapple, grapefruit) flavors were evident. Was informed by an expert that this was to be expected of a very young Brianna. So now after 6 TBSP sugar/gal we are @1.002. My wife has given thumbs up on a well chilled glass so I will let the treated gallon sit for a couple of days, recheck the SG. adjust if necessary, then bring the remainder of the carboy up to snuff!