My starting SG is at 1.075, what does this mean?

[abefroman]

My starting SG is at 1.075, what does this mean?

Is that about normal? Or does it mean it has started fermenting already?

TIA

 

[jet]

The 1.075 could just be low sugar grapes, assuming we're talking about grapes.

 

[deboard]

Assuming you will ferment to dry, an SG of 1.075 will get you around 10.87% alcohol in the finished wine. So if you have an acohol target in mind then you can adjust with added sugar to make it higher if you like. If you are going to backsweeten this wine before bottling, then the alcohol percentage will go down, possibly below 10%.

 

[abefroman]

Assuming you will ferment to dry, an SG of 1.075 will get you around 10.87% alcohol in the finished wine. So if you have an acohol target in mind then you can adjust with added sugar to make it higher if you like. If you are going to backsweeten this wine before bottling, then the alcohol percentage will go down, possibly below 10%.

Yep, its grape juice.

This is my first time making it, 10.87 would be fine, its a zinfandel. I was hoping a little higher, but I'll be happy with anything between 10 and 15%.

 

[jet]

You can raise the SG by adding sugar.

 

[ellijaywinemaker]

adding sugar is a good idea but I would use corn sugar as it does not lend a cidery taste to the wine like cane (table) sugar does. Any one here agree.00

 

[Luc]

I would aim for a higher SG like 1.085.

In my table which you can download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sjcvgeebjqn

1.075 will give you about 9.7% alcohol which is for any wine a bit low.

Adjust by using sugar. I always use table sugar, but hey this is continental europe, so this is sugarbeet sugar.

Luc

 

[deboard]

So how's this calculator so far off from Luc's?

http://www.grapestompers.com/calculations.htm (scroll down a bit for alcohol calculator)

I put in Starting SG as 1.075 and ending as 0.995 and get 10.87% alcohol. Even if I use 1.00 as the end SG I still get over 10%.

Just curious as I use this particular calculator all the time, and if it's wrong I will quit and use Luc's table.

 

[cpfan]

Pails of grape juice have sometimes fermented a bit before you buy them. Perhaps this is what happened here.

Not sure what's up with Luc's table. 1.075 - .995 = .080 * 133 = 10.64%. That's my number.

Steve

 

[abefroman]

Pails of grape juice have sometimes fermented a bit before you buy them. Perhaps this is what happened here.

Not sure what's up with Luc's table. 1.075 - .995 = .080 * 133 = 10.64%. That's my number.

Steve

There were a lot of CO2 bubbles, so it must have started cold fermenting.

 

[jet]

So how's this calculator so far off from Luc's?

http://www.grapestompers.com/calculations.htm (scroll down a bit for alcohol calculator)

I put in Starting SG as 1.075 and ending as 0.995 and get 10.87% alcohol. Even if I use 1.00 as the end SG I still get over 10%.

Just curious as I use this particular calculator all the time, and if it's wrong I will quit and use Luc's table.

Even with an ending SG of 1.000, I still come up with 10.19%.

 

[Joedaddy]

Adjust by using sugar. I always use table sugar, but hey this is continental europe, so this is sugarbeet sugar.

Luc

Luc, Are you saying you don't have cane sugar in Europe? Is cane sugar the standard? How is it different from our North American sugar?

 

[deboard]

I've used beet sugar as well, my wife will often buy whatever is cheaper. Beet sugar and white cane sugar are both refined sucrose.

 

[Wade E]

I come up with 10.5% also. I would not add sugar as I do believe your Zin has started on its own. For deep reds like this a higher abv wine is wanted, for most other fruit wies a slightly higher abv is wanted but not much. More like around 11.5% abv.

 

[DukeLuke]

You'll probably want to add sugar if you plan on aging your wine. I'm not exactly sure on the numbers but I think you'd want it the alcohol level a bit higher to keep the wine from going bad over the course of several years. Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone.