Concord 1st time batch - do I need to backsweeten

[Sputman99]

Yay - got my first batch of grapes fermented. It was produced from the juice extracted and frozen from grapes - i also made a mistake and watered it down by half. I added sugar and let it ferment. Its had a month for fermenting and i just racked it ( see pic ).

Now as it didnt ferment in the skins its very pale and very dry. Its also .990 or similar and seems quite potent.

I want to try and add some bodd and sweeteness back with red grape juice concentrate to fill the headspace - but i dont want to ferment this - any ideas on progress.



The wine looks quite pale - as it didnt have the skins and i heated the juice so i had some pectin happening as well.

anyways

 

[Rice_Guy]

I have been where you are with canned concord being fermented

* yes, you have head space which is bad, on a week we may live with it, over a month we should be able to taste it! I would consider filling one to 1 to 1.5 cm and then finding another smaller container for the other. ,,, by the way that looks like a juice bottle, PET is a good barrier and glass is best. If it is a poor barrier over six months it will develop a sherry flavor (I have done this)
* back sweetening without sorbate will cause the fermentation to pick up again, as a start when I rack I will save the lees and let it settle more in a tall shape in the fridge. The good stuff then gets tried with sugar and sometimes additional acid to get an impression.
* we usually do what is called a bench trial to figure out where the flavor balance is, I will do this by measuring 50 ml or 100 ml and then weighing sugar to figure out which gravity I like. This usually winds up to be a proportional to the total grams of acid in the system (Titratable Acidity)
* my canned concord never cleared, tasted OK though, patience? it may clear with pectase addition
* you cut the dry solids with water, to build up solids/ flavor I would look at frozen concentrate, again adding sugar will cause refermentation unless you do a sorbate treatment or pasteurize, ,,,,, 0.990 is dry so it will be stable to yeast, ,,,, but not oxygen
* a good start at a first ferment, congratulations . . . if the flavor is desirable with sugar topping it off with concentrate and storing in the fridge might be a easy fix, ,,, a shelf stable bottle either needs to stay dry or get sorbate.

 

[Sputman99]

Excellent advice - my juice was actually from my grapes but it may well have been concentrat.

Will sorbate remove the oxygen? I’m going to do what you suggest and fill one of them to the brim, and use a smaller bottle for the rest. I could of course get a bottle of red and fill it up a bit ! At least that may make it drinkable= or when I get 250ml red grape concentrate to sweeten it a bit and add colour

Next year there won’t be so many mistakes lol. it’s been really exciting and tasted ok if a little weak.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Metabisulphite (AKA campden tablets) is used to consume oxygen and delay oxidation of the alcohol producing acetaldehyde.
It also keeps a lot of families of microbes out.

welcome to the forum, I should have picked up Europe from seeing your power outlets