did I make koolaid

[LA-BOY]

My blackberry tastes very very mild. Here is the rundown, starting sg was .990 1st rack was 1.020, second rack I am not sure of the sg, but i did add a little sugar mix to sweeten it up alittle, I just forgot to check the sg. anyway I bottled it today and the sg was 1.040. This wine was started on 4/25 and finished on 6/26. Is that too soon, please be kind as I am also a newbie and have alot to learn... thanks la-boy.

 

[Wade E]

1st, what was your starting sg after adding all the sugar? At that high an finished sg you most likely have added a lot of juice or simple syrup and that is hiding a lot of the abv.

 

[grapeman]

You may have made Kool-aid if those numbers are right. 0.990 is the lowest practical FINISHED SG attainable, not the beginning. Water is 1.00 so you had less sweetness than water when you began. Then sugar mysteriously appeared at the first racking to raise it to 1.020. Still not sweet enough so you added sugar to 1.040 - sweeter than a dessert wine. So I would say that you need to practice a bit with the hydrometer and recording your figures.


I am just joking a bit with you. The numbers just don't add up.

 

[LA-BOY]

well, tasting it, the wine seemed a little tart, this was during the second racking so I heated some water, added 1 cup of sugar dissolved it, let it cool and added it to my wine. This was about a 2-2.5 gallon batch. I also at the same time cooked down 2 lbs of fresh frozen blackberries to make the f-pac you told me about earlier, to add some flavor. I cooked them down and strained the juice, let it coll and added. That was about a month ago. I made the mistake of not checking the sg after adding the sugar and f-pac, a beginner error. You are probably right, I must of added too much syrup. I does taste very mellow and good but the alc. % must be way down... oh well I will probably un cork and scrub bottles now, It made about 9 bottles. I will be starting my mayhaw wine next week and would appreciate some help with getting it started right. A mayhaw is a red berry that grows down here in the south, It is a tart berry that most people make jelly with but some of the locals do make wine with it. I have 9 lbs of berries. What size batch should I consider and where should my starting sg be for a nice table wine.... thanks

 

[grapeman]

There is no real practical way to tell the %ABV without the beginning SG. 0.990 just isn't the right number so there is no way of telling it. You could use the little meter there is, but that proves less than accurate even on commercial wines. Just drink it and enjoy it for what it is. Then you can practice on some more and refine your techniques. Before you know it, you will be an expert.

 

[Waldo]

[QUOTE=LA-BOY]My blackberry tastes very very mild. This wine was started on 4/25 and finished on 6/26. Is that too soon, please be kind as I am also a newbie and have alot to learn... thanks la-boy.[/QUOTE]






Put the bottles up somewere for a minimum of 8 months and then try one again. 2 months for a Blackberry is not neary enough time to determine whether its going to be any good or not. Patience and time will work in your favor when making wines from fruits.

 

[u01dtj6]

You could use the little meter there is, but that proves less than accurate even on commercial wines.

Appleman, do you mean a Vinometer? As I've tried using one several times on a few of my wines, and it doesn't seem to add up to the current %ABV. I even tried it on a 13.5% wine I bought from the supermarket and the vinometer somehow read it as 8%!


DJ

 

[grapeman]

That's the thing I refer to DJ. It certainly has never worked for me either.

 

[u01dtj6]

I've done a bit of research, and apparently they only work for dry wines. That might explain why it hasn't worked for me...