Backsweetening Questions

[Stevelaz]

Im getting ready to bottle my wifes Chardonnay. I have 6 gallons and i have to backsweeten it to get it to her liking.
Right now the sg is at 0.994 and i want to go to about 1.000 or a bit less. 1.000 is the sg of the commercial chardonnay she likes to drink. Is that amount of sweetening considered a lot? I wouldn't think so.

Also I have some wine conditioner on hand and im wondering if i should just use that or would i be better off making a simple syrup? I know ive seen here that the wine conditioner is not well liked.

I am also going to filter this wine with a 1 micron filter with the all in one filter set up. Should i filter the wine before or after sweetening? Will the backsweetening cloud the wine? Thanks!

 

[NorCal]

I would do blind bench trials and let her pick out the level of sweetness she likes the best. I have made wine with .6 brix, all the way up to 1.5 brix (1.5% RS). I wasn't a fan of either, but most people talk dry, like sweet. A sweet White Zin is around 1.5% RS, which is my benchmark. The .6 brix tasted more fruity than noticeably sweet. I have never had back sweetening cloud the wine.

I would add your sorbate and SO2, simple syrup and then let it sit for a few days, just to make sure everything is well distributed and anything that doesn't stay in solution falls to the bottom. I would then filter at the time of bottling.

 

[user 36973]

I am also going to filter this wine with a 1 micron filter with the all in one filter set up. Should i filter the wine before or after sweetening?

Filter immediately after you sweeten the wine. That way anything riding along in the sugar addition will get filtered out too. Note that a 1um filter will remove most but not all of the yeast, so you can't rely on that to prevent refermentation.

Will the backsweetening cloud the wine?

Only if it referments! Be sure to dose it well with your sorbate, 1 g/gal, and sulfites of course.

I would do blind bench trials and let her pick out the level of sweetness she likes the best. I have made wine with .6 brix, all the way up to 1.5 brix (1.5% RS).

Yep, better make sure she will like it before you go through all that work!

 

[Scooter68]

Wine conditioner is so overpriced compared to making the standard Simple syrup. And unless you are going to do a sterile filter, just use Potassium Sorbate before you back-sweeten.

NorCal has given you spot on directions. Short and sweet.

 

[Stevelaz]

Thanks, sounds good! I am going to use a simple syrup. The wine conditioner is old anyway.

I also just realized my sorbate is about 1.5 years old. Should i get a fresh jar or do you think i will be ok? Thanks again!

 

[Ajmassa]

Did your Chardonnay go through MLF?

 

[Stevelaz]

Did your Chardonnay go through MLF?

No it did not

 

[Ajmassa]

Good deal. A post from another thread reminded me of the whole ‘geranium smell’ situation. When sorbate in MLF’d wine can cause that disntinct smell.
Any thought on using a sugar substitute (like glycerine) that they sell at most local shops? And could nix any need for sorbate. Someone posted yesterday how adding glycerine can actually benefit a white wine other than just sweetening. Even w/o MLF it might be another good option

That is not a risk I’d ever take, glycerin would be my first choice were i ever in a position to be forced to sweeten a wine that had undergone MLF. Not only will glycerin sweeten, it may also improve the mouthfeel and body of your wine, and I don’t recall any conflicts with MLF.

 

[sour_grapes]

Thanks, sounds good! I am going to use a simple syrup. The wine conditioner is old anyway.

I also just realized my sorbate is about 1.5 years old. Should i get a fresh jar or do you think i will be ok? Thanks again!

You should get fresh stuff! I have no direct experience, but I have read scores of "my-sorbate-was-old-and-fermentation-restarted" threads here over the years.

 

[Stevelaz]

Any idea how much simple syrup i will need to get sg from 0.994 to 1.000

 

[Ajmassa]

The couple times I sweetened I just added a little at a time until I hit my mark. Never measured anything

 

[Johnd]

Any idea how much simple syrup i will need to get sg from 0.994 to 1.000

.77 lbs of sugar will get you there if you mix it into your wine, it’ll take a smidge more if you add water to it to make simple syrup, as you’ll be increasing volume with water.

 

[Scooter68]

I would go by the taste, the numbers are just numbers when it comes to sweetness and tasting. The "Blind" bench trial sounds like the perfect way to go. Just tell her that is should be just a hair short of perfect because after it sits a few months it will sweeten up a bit more.

 

[Stevelaz]

Thanks for all the advise....

Ok, the other day i backsweetened the Chardonnay to just about under 1.000. I then chilled it to how the wife likes to drink it. She liked it but wanted to add apricot flavoring because she read her wine she likes has hints of apricot to it...I added half bottle of the brewers best apricot flavoring and she liked it much better and told me to bottle!. However, she kept doing a side by side comparison with her commercial wine and kept saying they taste different...lol I told her they are 2 totally different wines and they are going to taste different. Im not a big white wine drinker but i tried them both and liked mine much better! I really do not drink her wine when she opens a bottle but i told her id gladly share a bottle of this wine when she opens it...lol.

 

[AkTom]

Yeah. Now you're talking. Bottle it up. After aging, every time she gets a bottle, take one and put in your stash. "Why honey, how'd you go through that much wine?"