Adding Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

[silverbullet07]

Just wondering..... I have 4 gals of Raspberry clearing. If and when it comes time to bottle. Can I save a gal after it clears and add Hershey's Syrup to infuse a hint of chocolate to make a Raspberry Chocolate Wine? Or maybe should I go ahead and add some at my next racking to one of the gal? Would Hershey's Syrup be alright to use or or would coco nibs be better? Is it to late to add some now in the middle of clearing?

 

[Rice_Guy]

Chocolate syrup has sugar which tends to reactivate the yeast.
A no sugar as cocoa powder or cocoa nibs is safer for the wine process

 

[silverbullet07]

With it being clear and ready to bottle, can we add potassium sorbate before the Chocolate syrup is added?

 

[VinesnBines]

The syrup will cloud the wine, as will cocoa or nibs. The best choice for clear wine is a chocolate flavor or liquor made from a spirt and chocolate nibs. Anything else will require much more time and clearing. Even with flavor or liquor I would wait a couple weeks more before bottleing.

 

[silverbullet07]

@VinesnBines
Would it be alright to go ahead and add 5-6 oz of dutch chocolate to a gal and let it continue to clear and age in the jug? No rush to bottle it now. Just wondering if it would be ok to add after fermentation rather than during.

 

[salcoco]

I used to make and sell commercially Raspberry Chocolate wine. I did a bench trial with chocolate syrup and then added to the raspberry about 5 gallons at a time. it will make the wine cloudy in fact to assure the taste transfer the wine needs to be stirred daily until the flavor is as you wish. then let it settle. to overcome any refermentation just add sorbate before you add syrup. It was one of my biggest sellers in the winery

In fact one day four ladies came in to do a tasting. I always offered the raspberry chocolate wine last . they were enjoying the tasting and as I visited there table one lady raised here chocolate wine glass and said " this wine is like having sex" and the second lady said "and I can have it anytime I want" Ahhh fine memories of running a winery

 

[silverbullet07]

@salcoco
Thanks for the info, Couple questions. My Raspberry wine is 10.5% so a little light on ABV. If I add the chocolate syrup and it did start fermentation again, I guess that would be ok? May bump up the ABV a little to get it in a dessert wine range. I guess it would be a little tricky in mathematics to determine what the final ABV would be. But I guess there is a formula to calculate it.

How much chocolate syrup would be a starting point for a 1 gal trial? 8-12 oz?

 

[salcoco]

the new abv is the same calculations as the initial starting sg minus final sg time 131. measure sg after adding syrup the once it is done. calculate new abv.

I would do a bench trial get about a 1/4 cup sample of the wine then add 1/4 tsp syrup do taste test not yet there get another sample add 1/2 tsp etc find the right one add to basic wine

 

[silverbullet07]

@salcoco
To help me understand I have this correct

Originally my SG 1.093 FG 1.010 = ABV 10.873%

Now if I add syrup and my SG goes up to 1.050 and it ferments to FG 1.010 that gives me ABV 5.24%.

Do I just add the two together at that point to give me a final ABV? 10.873 + 5.24 = 16.113% ABV

 

[salcoco]

that is correct.

 

[sour_grapes]

@salcoco
To help me understand I have this correct

Originally my SG 1.093 FG 1.010 = ABV 10.873%

Now if I add syrup and my SG goes up to 1.050 and it ferments to FG 1.010 that gives me ABV 5.24%.

Do I just add the two together at that point to give me a final ABV? 10.873 + 5.24 = 16.113% ABV

That is close to correct, but not quite. To do better, you have to account for the additional volume when you added the syrup.

To do it right, figure out how much ethanol (not %, but actual volume) there is in your first wine. So, if you have 1 gal (128 fl. oz.) of wine at 10.8%, then you have 128oz*0.108 = 13.8 fl oz. of ethanol. Now, say you add 1 quart of syrup, raising SG to 1.050. (I am just making up the volume here.) Now assume this ferments down to 1.010, which produces 5.24% ABV. That second fermentation added (128+32)*0.0524=8.38 fl oz of ethanol. So now you have, in total (13.8+8.38)/(128+32) = 13.9% ABV.

 

[silverbullet07]

@sour_grapes thanks for the correction.

 

[cmason1957]

Originally my SG 1.093 FG 1.010 = ABV 10.873%

With a final sg of 1.010 and an alcohol of only 11%, I would adder kmeta and potassium sorbate no matter what else. That's way too high sg and to low an alcohol to hope it won't start refermentation at some point in the future. I know you weren't asking about that, but that's my $0.02.

 

[VinesnBines]

@VinesnBines
Would it be alright to go ahead and add 5-6 oz of dutch chocolate to a gal and let it continue to clear and age in the jug? No rush to bottle it now. Just wondering if it would be ok to add after fermentation rather than during.

I've only added the dutched chocolate in the primary. It was a bit of a mucky mess and I'm not sure it gave off much chocolate flavor. I'm going to be making another raspberry as soon as I empty some gallon jugs and I'll try Salcoco's method with the syrup.

 

[salcoco]

here is a version I modified from one established by Jack Keller. use of Dutch chocolate powder I got from Penzey's is the trick plus letting chocolate rise to top of gallon once fermentation is complete.

 

[VinesnBines]

My recipe was Jack Keller's, too. Question: Is this the same recipe where you add the syrup or was it a straight raspberry? I'll be using my frozen black raspberries.

 

[winemaker81]

My local shop sells a clear chocolate extract, which I've used when making a chocolate peanut butter porter. Unless adding the chocolate in the primary, I'd use the extract. (my $0.02)

If making from scratch, I'd use the recipe @salcoco posted.

 

[VinesnBines]

I've used extracts ion peanut butter porter too. I'd use extract on a finished wine too; though the syrup method like Salcoco suggested is an idea. I may try that with a gallon of body-less merlot.

 

[silverbullet07]

With a final sg of 1.010 and an alcohol of only 11%, I would adder kmeta and potassium sorbate no matter what else. That's way too high sg and to low an alcohol to hope it won't start refermentation at some point in the future. I know you weren't asking about that, but that's my $0.02.

thanks. I have that planned before I back sweet the wine a little.

 

[silverbullet07]

My local shop sells a clear chocolate extract, which I've used when making a chocolate peanut butter porter. Unless adding the chocolate in the primary, I'd use the extract. (my $0.02)

If making from scratch, I'd use the recipe @salcoco posted.

How does that chocolate flavor taste.