Welch's concord with the super-sugar method

[wineforfun]

My first taste after it stopped moving for 3 days, I had a little from what wouldn't fit in my carboys. It was surprisingly decent right out of the fermentor. Can't wait til month 3 or 4!

Yes, it will be good right away and get better after a couple of months.

Since you don't have to backsweeten, that is why it is pretty good right off the bat. Everything is pretty much already done but a little waiting.

Now you can start messing with it a little bit.
I have made it with some oak(wasn't a huge fan of that).
I have made it with cinammon and clove in the secondary, while clearing(it turned out good, like a spiced Welchs).

 

[wineforfun]

thanks for the clarification jswordy and others! your original post may have been perfect for those who have made wine before but i am an absolute beginner. ive read recipes and watched youtube until my eyes bled but ....
i did start work on my first batch. it smells great and its really hard not to go taste it like every 5 minutes. lol i cant tell if its still fermenting or the gases are just slowly escaping but otherwise it looks good.

Did you add acid blend to it? That is listed in the original recipe, just not in this thread. I believe it was 1 Tbsp. per gallon.
Also, remember to add nutrient along the way.

 

[jswordy]

Yeah, sorry guys, DJ knows that anymore I just do everything by the General Rules of Winemaking and then how it tastes when it's done. I am pretty damn sloppy about science these days. It drives him nuts, too. LOL - ask him! He'll tell ya!

I dunno, recipes and all, after a few years it just comes along. Main thing is, if you get going in almost any direction that is not a ruined wine, and you have piled up enough fruit up front, you can always alter the taste of anything on the back end if you need to. The only thing that is hard to alter is being too weak on fruit in the primary. THAT'S where you want to spend the money to push it as hard as you can.

In fact, I'll go so far as to say if you see a recipe says use X amount of fruit, you should try to double it. All-juice / no water is the best kind of wine. I like the flavor to burst out of the liquid.

Like that acid thing - if I add acid nowadays it's gonna be at the end with most fruits. Lots more control there. Anyway, feel free to ask me for my address to send me samples! LOL!!!

 

[jswordy]

thanks for the clarification jswordy and others! your original post may have been perfect for those who have made wine before but i am an absolute beginner. ive read recipes and watched youtube until my eyes bled but ....
i did start work on my first batch. it smells great and its really hard not to go taste it like every 5 minutes. lol i cant tell if its still fermenting or the gases are just slowly escaping but otherwise it looks good.

This is really a perfect wine for a beginner, Clarissa. You will learn so many things that will form the base for your further adventures! FUN!

 

[wineforfun]

Yeah, sorry guys, DJ knows that anymore I just do everything by the General Rules of Winemaking and then how it tastes when it's done. I am pretty damn sloppy about science these days. It drives him nuts, too. LOL - ask him! He'll tell ya!

No kidding, that paragraph has my head spinning already.

WHAT? no recipe.

I do agree with Jim though, make sure you have the fruit/flavor up front.
Also, I am starting to heed his and @Bernard's advice and worry about the acid, etc. additions/tweaks on the back end.

 

[wineforfun]

You will learn so many things that will form the base for your further adventures!

Yeah, like WELCHS RULES

 

[jumby]

Should this be racked into a 5 or 6 gallon carboy after fermentation? What is the approximate time from pitching the yeast to bottling? Just to clarify too I'm looking for a starting SG of 1.150 correct? Not 1.115?

 

[jswordy]

Should this be racked into a 5 or 6 gallon carboy after fermentation? What is the approximate time from pitching the yeast to bottling? Just to clarify too I'm looking for a starting SG of 1.150 correct? Not 1.115?

Should this be racked into a 5 or 6 gallon carboy after fermentation?

Please see post #35 in this thread.

What is the approximate time from pitching the yeast to bottling?

The approximate time is dependent on liquid temp and volume, but ranges from 5-10 days. Trust your hydrometer. At ~70 degrees, it generally takes 6-7 days at my house to primary ferment a 10-gallon batch. (I rarely bother with 5 gallons of wine anymore.)

Just to clarify too I'm looking for a starting SG of 1.150 correct? Not 1.115?[/QUOTE]

Yep. That's why it the "super-sugar method." That's also why the yeast is just sprinkled on top and not stirred in for the first day, so it can acclimate. If you use a hydrated yeast, it can be stepped up in a two-stage hydration process to acclimate it. In that process, you start your yeast with a mild sugar water solution. Once going, you add some of the must to the yeast to double the liquid volume. Then once that is going well, you pour it gently on top of the must in primary. But that's a lot of work when sprinkling is just as good.

This is not Welch's (it's a medal-winning muscadine) but it shows you what the yeast bloom should look like before you stir it in the first time:



Here's a nice 10-gallon Welch's batch with beautiful fermentation underway after the yeast has been stirred in:



Makes me thirsty!

 

[wineforfun]

@jswordy,
Holy cow Jim, I REALLY need to get down your way and help consume some of that wine.

10 gallons would last me quite awhile..................or make my wife and her friends really "happy".

Nice pics.

 

[jswordy]

@jswordy,
Holy cow Jim, I REALLY need to get down your way and help consume some of that wine.

10 gallons would last me quite awhile..................or make my wife and her friends really "happy".

Nice pics.

Too late for that whole 20 gallons there - GONE!

 

[JohnT]

Oh dear lord!

 

[dralarms]

I figured you'd show up here sometime JohnT

 

[gaboy]

JS Wordy, Do you have that recipe for thr Muscadine wine in your picture? I hope to ferment my first of that kind this fall and need a proven recipe! GaBoy

 

[CheerfulHeart]

At the risk of sounding ignorant (hey, I've been there before LOL), how many cups of sugar is a good starting point to get close to 1.15?

 

[sour_grapes]

At the risk of sounding ignorant (hey, I've been there before LOL), how many cups of sugar is a good starting point to get close to 1.15?

Here is a nice tool you can use to calculate this: http://web2.airmail.net/sgross/fermcalc/fermcalc_applet.html

 

[CheerfulHeart]

@sour_grapes: Thank you Paul! I appreciate the calculator. It will be a great help not only with the Welches but also with other wines.

 

[Tony49]

Think I made an oops.
Used 7 cups of sugar for a 3 gallon batch. (12 Welches)
SG came out to 1.035 before I tossed the RC312.
SG now is reading 1.090 one day later.
Wondering if I should put in more sugar or simple syrup now.
Or, wait till its time to rack.
Thanks
Tony...

 

[sour_grapes]

SG came out to 1.035 before I tossed the RC312.
SG now is reading 1.090 one day later.

Are you saying that you put the sugar in, but did not stir it, so it did not dissolve? And that after a day, the sugar dissolved and raised the SG?

 

[wineforfun]

Think I made an oops.
Used 7 cups of sugar for a 3 gallon batch. (12 Welches)
SG came out to 1.035 before I tossed the RC312.
SG now is reading 1.090 one day later.
Wondering if I should put in more sugar or simple syrup now.
Or, wait till its time to rack.
Thanks
Tony...

Ok, couple of things to address here.

1. I assume you mean with the sugar addition, the SG was 1.135, not 1.035? If you used 4 cans of concentrate per gallon, plus all that sugar, 1.035 wouldn't be possible, unless you added a ton(not literally) of water.
2. Assuming it was 1.135, no way it will drop that much in one day.
3. What was the total volume when the concentrate and sugar were combined.
4. Just to clarify, RC212.

Something is amiss here. Any other details you can share?

 

[Tony49]

Yes, RC212
The total volume juice, sugar, water is a tad over 3 gallons.
Sugar was simple syrup with 7cups of sugar and one gallon water.
Another gallon water added to come to 3gallons.
Took a reading just now and the hydrometer reads 1.090.
Perhaps my dyslexia is getting the better of me or the hydro is defective.
I will throw the first reading out, since I am no expert and better opinion is that it is not possible. I will stand by the 1.090 however.
My feeling is that perhaps I did not put in enough sugar.
My question is when it would be best to add it.
Thanks very much for your help.
Tony...