Good starting SG for cranberry wine?

[Johnd]

Oh boy. I doubt that much sugar will dissolve easily directly in the juice. Which means I'll have to dissolve it in warm water first. Which means more sugar since I'll be diluting. I only have 10 lbs of white sugar on hand... Most of my sugar is organic and so is light tan. Would using that sugar affect the color of the wine? Should I wait until tomorrow when I can buy more white refined sugar? If I dissolve on a gallon of additional water, I'll need 3+ lbs more sugar to compensate.

If you have 10 # of white sugar on hand, you have what you need. You’ll have no trouble dissolving sugar in liquid at room temps to get your must to 1.090, it’s capable of handling much more sugar in solution. Consider adding it in stages, add 7.5 # and stir til the sugar is dissolved, measure to see where you are, repeat with smaller additions til you hit 1.090. It’s actually good practice to work slowly toward your goal in stages, it will help avoid overshooting your endpoint.

 

[sremick]

I actually did end up using a combination of adding warm water w/ sugar dissolved, and then warming up the juice, to get enough sugar to hit 1.090. So that much was accomplished.

What disturbs me now is how much potassium bicarbonate, and calcium carbonate (because I used up all my potassium bicarbonate) to get the pH from 2.5 to 3.5.

The good news is I measured TA via pH meter and titration and it was .65

 

[sremick]

More good news: my careful following of the instructions for using Go-Ferm Protect and hydrating the yeast seem to have paid off. I was getting some signs of CO2 being given off not long after pitching the yeast. A day later, there was strong bubbling in the airlock. From other testimonials, this seems unusual for cranberry. Measured the SG and I'm already down to 1.080 from 1.090. Per the instructions, I'll add more nutrient (Fermaid-O) once it gets to like 1.058-1.059 (as, by my math, that lines up with a 1/3rd drop in brix which is the point in the instructions it says to add more nutrient).

Still crossing my fingers that the amount of acid-reducers I added won't ruin things. The instructions say that they're not for changing the acidity more than 0.3%, which is impossibly small when dealing with cranberry juice. So I'm not sure what else one is supposed to do.

 

[BernardSmith]

Just a thought: when I make cranberry wine or mead I generally dilute the juice 1 part juice to 7 parts water. Straight juice is just too tart. That way while you are not reducing the strength (pH) of the acids in the juice, you are greatly reducing the quantity of acid (TA). and it is TA that you taste as tart.

 

[sremick]

Just a thought: when I make cranberry wine or mead I generally dilute the juice 1 part juice to 7 parts water. Straight juice is just too tart. That way while you are not reducing the strength (pH) of the acids in the juice, you are greatly reducing the quantity of acid (TA). and it is TA that you taste as tart.

Well, too late for that to help reduce the amount of potassium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate I added. I suppose I could dilute before bottling... or just let it bulk age as-is, bottle as-is, then dilute when it's served. At that point we could determine what dilution factor appeals to our tastes and I can apply that next time (and it means I need fewer bottles).

 

[BernardSmith]

I would taste your wine to make sure that if you have added a lot of base (Calcium carb or K bicarb) that it has not made the wine taste salty.

 

[sremick]

I would taste your wine to make sure that if you have added a lot of base (Calcium carb or K bicarb) that it has not made the wine taste salty.

Interesting... so it will actually taste salty from those?

If it does... would cold stabilization help? From my reading, that seems just about the only way to clear (precipitate) the "salts" out. I can get a small 5 cf freezer for like $160, might not be a bad tool to have... CS seems to be a common recommended thing.