finishing to taste

[Winefarmer1]

Maybe information about these subjects has been missed, andmaybe they are just dumb, but




(1) is using one of the four oz. fruit flavorings instead of an f pack unkosher to wine law?
(2) can one sweeten a fininished wine with splenda, fructose, or some other product that doesn't referment?


My neighbor, a long time brewer of spirits of all sorts down on his favorite springheads, thinks both are cheating, but then he thinks making wine with anything except brewer's yeast is also.

 

[grapeman]

If you are making wine for your own use, there is no law as to what you can use to sweeten it. If you are making it to sell, check your jurisdictional laws currently i place for any additions.


The topic of using splenda, etc comes up periodically. It can be done and in the short term is a workable solution, however it is said that those products can break down over time and introduce off flavors to the wine. To me it just isn't worth it.

 

[Wade E]

In my opinion those flavored additive bottles are very nasty and will give your wine a very imitation fruit flavor, if you do want to try this route please for your sake try a small sample first before adding to our carboy. There may be couple out there that are good but a few that I have tried were nasty. I did go to a professional chefs store and bought some real chocolate extract that was very good and made a Chocolate Strawberry port which came out very good in my opinion.

 

[Tom]

I agree with Wade. The stuff you see in the HB stores are nasty.
I would like you to look into making a F-PAC. There you will be adding natural flavors. You can also adjust it to YOUR taste. Quite a few here do that. All you need is some experience and understanding of whats happening. Guess where you you can get that info..
BTW I would use simple syrup instead of splenda.

 

[PolishWineP]

Maybe information about these subjects has been missed, andmaybe they are just dumb, but




(1) is using one of the four oz. fruit flavorings instead of an f pack unkosher to wine law?
(2) can one sweeten a fininished wine with splenda, fructose, or some other product that doesn't referment?


My neighbor, a long time brewer of spirits of all sorts down on his favorite springheads, thinks both are cheating, but then he thinks making wine with anything except brewer's yeast is also.

Don't worry about "dumb" questions. You ask them because you need to know, so that makes it a good question. (Unless someone answered the very question clearly right above you, and then someone might charge you a bottle of wine for it...

)

As far as using alternate sweeteners, using the best that you can will really help to produce a higher quality wine. The time and or money that you save will not be worth it in your finished product. Usually.

 

[pelican]

Are you wanting to use alternative sweeteners because they are non-fermentable, or because you need to avoid sucrose?

Something to consider could be bottle as is (dry), and then when you open the bottle, sweeten to taste at that time. That way there are no worries about off flavors over time - and you may find that over time, the flavor profile of the wine as it ages changes, and changes the way you want to sweeten it too. (maybe).

 

[Wade E]

Pelican has given great info as usual along with Tom. I have used both of these methods especially Pelicans when given a bottle of dry wine where I would have sweetened it so added some sugar to each glass. the f-pac will turn a pretty good batch of fruit wine into an award winning knockout wine with very little work.

 

[Winefarmer1]

Thanks for the information from all. Pelican, I really don't know what I want. I just asked because I had sweetened a couple of bottles of blueberry when I went from 6 gallons to a 5 gallon carboy. My local HB supply had advised using lactose for some reason, and when I added a little to taste it I detected no sweetener. Then I added a couple packs of splenda and it dramatically improved the taste. Hence the question.


I liked Pelican's advice because I had already decided that I was going to bottle some dry and some sweetened. My reasoning is that when I add a F-Pak to a full carboy, I will need to make room. Thought I would bottle a couple or three dry then sweeten the rest.


Another problem is I have no remaining fruit for the Mango wine unless I make a peach f-Pak. The mango already is a mix of mango, peach, and blueberry (just a bit). The mayhaw may be another problem because it seems that the fruit just is not all that flavorful. How it makes such wonderful jelly is a puzzle.

 

[pelican]

For a mango f-pac, I myself would probably be inclined to use mango nectar which you might find at the local supermarket (although clearing might be an issue there)... if you have any "asian grocers" in your area they will likely have mango juice available in cans of assorted sizes.

Peach would be a nice compliment to mango I should think.

 

[vcasey]

I would go for the peach, some of that mango nectar is as nasty as the flavorings. And yes peach and mango compliment each other very well, as I am currently enjoying a mango, peach & mint smoothie.
VC

 

[Tom]

I would tend to agree with vcasey. Add some prach