Scooter68
Fruit "Wine" Maker
Finding bottles for the 'left-over' wine is a little tricky but worthwhile. I found a couple of 20 oz bottles that a drilled bung fits nicely allowing me to put an airlock on that.
As to the idea of just using straight sugar added to the must, there is the problem of getting it all dissolved. It takes less time to make a simple syrup ahead and add it in knowing that all the sugar is dissolved. Otherwise you spend time stirring and stirring and never being able to see if the sugar is fully dissolved. Every once in while someone will post a question about why their SG went UP after the fermentation started. In most cases that's because they had undissolved sugar in the must that dissolved after they pitched the yeast. In the case of a fast fermenting wine must that means you may have a higher ABV than expected OR you might exceed the ABV limits of your yeast as that undissolved sugar dissolves.
A few simple prep steps like preparing a simple syrup, can save you a lot of time give you more accurate initial SG readings and in the case of yeast starters, result in a faster startup of the fermentation. Making the "Rich" simple syrup that I use means it's a lot easier to raise the SG without exceeding my target volumes and it also means less time stirring a fermentation bucket. I let the microwave heat my water and after a little bit of stirring I Let the syrup cool down while I do other prep work.
In terms of volumes the amount to overshoot is dictated by the amount of lees you expect. If you are working with real whole fruit you are going to need more volume to off set the loss from lees OR you can use more fruit per gallon and just know that you are going to lose the concentration of fruit per gallon as the process goes on. BUT topping off with water, especially after that initial larger quantity of lees is lost means you also reduce your ABV. So aiming high for starting volume means a more accurate knowledge of the ending ABV. For a 1 gallon batch with fruit I try to start with at least 1 1/3 gallons or if you know you will have a LOT of lees perhaps go as high as 1 1/2 gallons for a one gallon batch.
It's sounds overwhelming at first but after a few batches you get the hang of it. Blackberry by the way hasn't been hard to clear nor does it have a large quantity of lees so blackberry is a good starter wine.
As to the idea of just using straight sugar added to the must, there is the problem of getting it all dissolved. It takes less time to make a simple syrup ahead and add it in knowing that all the sugar is dissolved. Otherwise you spend time stirring and stirring and never being able to see if the sugar is fully dissolved. Every once in while someone will post a question about why their SG went UP after the fermentation started. In most cases that's because they had undissolved sugar in the must that dissolved after they pitched the yeast. In the case of a fast fermenting wine must that means you may have a higher ABV than expected OR you might exceed the ABV limits of your yeast as that undissolved sugar dissolves.
A few simple prep steps like preparing a simple syrup, can save you a lot of time give you more accurate initial SG readings and in the case of yeast starters, result in a faster startup of the fermentation. Making the "Rich" simple syrup that I use means it's a lot easier to raise the SG without exceeding my target volumes and it also means less time stirring a fermentation bucket. I let the microwave heat my water and after a little bit of stirring I Let the syrup cool down while I do other prep work.
In terms of volumes the amount to overshoot is dictated by the amount of lees you expect. If you are working with real whole fruit you are going to need more volume to off set the loss from lees OR you can use more fruit per gallon and just know that you are going to lose the concentration of fruit per gallon as the process goes on. BUT topping off with water, especially after that initial larger quantity of lees is lost means you also reduce your ABV. So aiming high for starting volume means a more accurate knowledge of the ending ABV. For a 1 gallon batch with fruit I try to start with at least 1 1/3 gallons or if you know you will have a LOT of lees perhaps go as high as 1 1/2 gallons for a one gallon batch.
It's sounds overwhelming at first but after a few batches you get the hang of it. Blackberry by the way hasn't been hard to clear nor does it have a large quantity of lees so blackberry is a good starter wine.
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