Chapitalizing

[toronado13]

I was curious, as I've been making my batches of fruit wine I have to add sugar to it prior to pitching the yeast. I'm curious how much this kind of thing happens in a "professional" winery, etc? I feel like I'm cheating bring the sugar up on the must b/c the fruit itself doesn't have the right stuff..

 

[GrandpasFootsteps]

I was curious, as I've been making my batches of fruit wine I have to add sugar to it prior to pitching the yeast. I'm curious how much this kind of thing happens in a "professional" winery, etc? I feel like I'm cheating bring the sugar up on the must b/c the fruit itself doesn't have the right stuff..

From a book I received this Christmas, named "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wine Basics, part 2". The book is about wine tasting and wine regions around the world, not about making wine. Very good book though.

"Many places in Europe outlaw chaptalization to protect the quality of the region's sweet wines. Sugar can only add sweetness, not flavor. A good dessert wine relies only on the sweet fruit sugar as well as acid to balance sweetness and flavors." (paraphrased).

So it doesn't generally answer your question for all professionals, but it does address most appellations in Europe.

 

[JohnT]

The thing here is that you are not making wine from wine grapes. Wine grapes carry anywhere 20 to 26 percent sugar.

Most other fruits do not go this high. Unless you like your wine dry and very weak, you need to add sugar.

I fined that a most of the "other fruit" wines here are not comercially available, but if they were, I would not be surprised if they added sugar.

 

[winemanden]

Sugar

Grandpa, if you do a bit of research, you'll find that lots of areas are allowed to Chaptalize their wines in order to bring them up to the minimum alcohol standard for the area. They have to be within a certain percentage below the minimum to do it.

I read somewhere that the wine industry in France unofficially uses more sugar than the baking industry (cakes etc.)
No doubt someone will come after me for saying this.

Regards to all, Winemanden.

 

[JohnT]

To sum up,

Adding sugar to grape wine is frowned upon, although it will produce a stronger wine. Adding sugar to fruit wines is very often done.