abv & back sweetening

[geri]

Hi...what is abv and is it always necessary to back sweeten before bottling?

 

[NorthernWinos]

abv= Alcohol By Volume....You figure that by your Starting or Original Gravity on your hydrometer and your Final Specific Gravity.

You certainly do not have to sweeten your wine before bottling if you like it the way it is....If you want it a little sweeter than you sweeten it to your tastes, a little at a time.....But, always add Potassium Sorbate before bottling as you might get the wine fermenting the added sugar you added....that could cause your corks popping or even worse....exploding bottles.....

 

[jcnoren]

When you say sweeten to your taste...just prior to bottling all of my wines seembitter however I am reluctant to sweeten at thispoint. I find if I let my wine age in the bottle even 6months, the wine seems to taste sweeter. Now possibly the sweeter taste that I detect is not sweetness at all rather the wine smoothing out with age.As a result I have never sweetend my wine prior to bottling for fear with aging I would end up with a product that is too sweet.


Is there some sort of formula///// ie. 1cup disolved sugar in 1 cup water (adding 1/2 cup of said mixture) to wine = compared to commercial standards and increase of 1 on the sweetening scale.


I really have no idea how backsweetening is done. Add a tablespoon 15ml ... taste????


JC

 

[Wade E]

The typical simple syrup consists of 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of boiling water. I typically sweeten all my fruit wines to just a little less sweetness the I will want and find that works for me best. I have some bottles that are almost 3 years old and were sweetened a little too much when made and they have actually tamed down so IMO, the sweetness will seem to increase within a few months when the wine smooths out and then fade back after a year or 2. Please remember that sorbate should be added to a wine with a decent S02 level.

 

[geri]

If my concord wine seems a little thin, should I add grape juice to backsweeten and improve the flavor & if so, do I cook the juice to concentrate or can I use frozen concentrate and do I use it straight? I don't want it to be too sweet.
Thanks for the info, making this little batch of wine for fun has grown more complicated than I expected. However, it looks like its coming along good.
The color is like a Zinfindel and not as dark as I thought it would be.Edited by: geri

 

[Wade E]

I would use either of the 2 CONCENTRATED methods above by either condensing juice on the stove or by buying frozen concentrate and adding without dilution. Just be careful and taste frequently so as not to make it too sweet for yourself.

 

[geri]

Thankyou

 

[PolishWineP]

We also find that with aging the wine seems to "sweeten" itself. But once again, it's just aging and smoothing. When we sweeten, we find out how we like it then and back off a bit on the simple syrup.