I had an idea, and no ideas in wine making seem to be original anymore. Sounds like those crafty Germans have been doing it for a bit. I guess the method is called Süßreserve or Süssreserve. With this method, it sounds like you ferment your wine slowly and attempt to get the alcohol content a bit higher than usual. When it is done fermenting you sorbate and kMeta it and chill it. That is when you pull your handy reserved juice or Süssreserve pack out of the freezer and dump it in gently.
Has anybody used this method? I plan to use it with Vignoles and I'd like feedback on how much to add in.
When I use the champagne method, I make a dosage that is similar right after the disgorging and prior to corking. For this I add sorbate, acid, and a simple syrup. I know that some of the yeast will still be active in the bottle so I overshoot the sugar to taste plus a bit because I know some will turn to alcohol and CO2. I am fine with this because it restores the bubbles to what they were if not a little stronger than prior to the disgorging.
With a Süßreserve pack, I know I will not and should not bottle right after the addition because some fermentation might take place with the yeast that is still active. I'd rather not boil it to sterilize it because that might add notes of carmel and such which would be undesired. Would this be needed though, should I just heat it enough to kill any yeast or bacteria and add KMeta and Sorbate?
Oh, the reason you aim to ferment with a higher level of alcohol is because you dilute it with unfermented juice.
Has anybody used this method? I plan to use it with Vignoles and I'd like feedback on how much to add in.
When I use the champagne method, I make a dosage that is similar right after the disgorging and prior to corking. For this I add sorbate, acid, and a simple syrup. I know that some of the yeast will still be active in the bottle so I overshoot the sugar to taste plus a bit because I know some will turn to alcohol and CO2. I am fine with this because it restores the bubbles to what they were if not a little stronger than prior to the disgorging.
With a Süßreserve pack, I know I will not and should not bottle right after the addition because some fermentation might take place with the yeast that is still active. I'd rather not boil it to sterilize it because that might add notes of carmel and such which would be undesired. Would this be needed though, should I just heat it enough to kill any yeast or bacteria and add KMeta and Sorbate?
Oh, the reason you aim to ferment with a higher level of alcohol is because you dilute it with unfermented juice.