Grape Juice Wine (concentrate)

[Dend78]

Just started another batch last night, 4gal batch

12 cans frozen grape concentrate
1 cup sugar
water up to around 4 gallons
3tsp Acid Blend
4tsp Yeast Nutrient
4 tsp Pectic Enzyme
EC-1118

Heated the juice concentrate to a warm liquid, poured into primary, then added water up to around 4 gallons, then added Acid Blend, Yeast Nutrient and Pectic Enzyme. Checked my gravity 1.072 added one cup of sugar stirred it in well checked again a little later 1.078. 3 or 4 hours later I sprinkled yeast on top and let it go, this morning it was foaming up quite nicely.

 

[Julie]

And to add to what you already done, if you are going to backsweeten, use a can or two of the frozen concentrate.

 

[Dend78]

And to add to what you already done, if you are going to backsweeten, use a can or two of the frozen concentrate.

ahh Julie you gave away the ending

haha just playing that is the plan i wasnt totally sure how many cans it would take so i was gonna save that for when the time came I would add in backsweetening notes.

this batch is mainly for my wife, after the comment I would drink more wine if it tasted like grape juice so im on a mission to get as close to that flavoring as possible without over sweetening.

10/17/2012

Stirred and checked SG 1.064

10/18/2012

same as above just 1.050

10/18/2012

checked it in the evening 1.030

10/19/20

checked it and stirred it this morning 1.018, hope to transfer to secondary tonight

10/21/12

added k-meta and sorbate going to get juice tomorrow on my way home from work for back sweetening

 

[Dend78]

well shes was sitting at .995 from 10/20 - 10/22 so I went ahead and back sweetened some just added 2 cans-o-juice and some sparkolloid, i will check gravity again tonight and sugar up as needed.

 

[Julie]

I'm hoping you added k-meta and sorbate before you added the additional juice

 

[Dend78]

oh yes i did see post 3 last update

one question, im trying out the wine calc and i want to make sure i am doing this right, my SG right now after adding juice is 1.006 and I want to sweeten with sugar up to 1.030ish how many pounds of sugar does it require? If im doing it right 4 pounds but I want someone to double check my math so i dont end up like i did on another batch.

 

[Julie]

I would say about 5 cups of sugar, which would probably be close to 4 pounds but are you sure you want it that sweet? I would shoot for 1.010, taste that and if not sweet enough then shoot for 1.020. Take is slow.

 

[dralarms]

Julie,

2 cups and 1 tbsp. Is 1 lb, so it would closer to 8 1/3 cup. That said, you are right. Take it slow, go to 1.010 then 1.020.

 

[Dend78]

okay its at 1.006 right now 1.010 wouldn't be enough for sure its really bitter grape right now, i will take it to 1.015 and move up from there though, thanks for your help!

 

[Arne]

1.010 mite suprise you. Draw a glass and bring the sugar up slowly while tasting. When you get it where you like it, check the S.G. That will give you an idea where you want it sweetened to. Arne.

 

[Julie]

Dralarms, 8 1/3 cups of sugar is a pile of sugar. One cup of sugar will raise sg .018 per gallon. For a 4 gallon batch, adding 5 cups of sugar will increase 1.006 sg to 1.0285.

And Arne is right 1.010 is pretty sweet, even though you are at 1.006 right now you would be very surprised at how fast the sweet level goes up.

 

[dralarms]

Dralarms, 8 1/3 cups of sugar is a pile of sugar. One cup of sugar will raise sg .018 per gallon. For a 4 gallon batch, adding 5 cups of sugar will increase 1.006 sg to 1.0285.

And Arne is right 1.010 is pretty sweet, even though you are at 1.006 right now you would be very surprised at how fast the sweet level goes up.

Didnt say is wasn't. I was going on his "4 pounds of sugar mark" I misunderstood your post aparently because I thought you were saying that 4 lbs. of sugar is only 5 cups.

 

[Dend78]

Draw a glass and bring the sugar up slowly while tasting. When you get it where you like it, check the S.G. That will give you an idea where you want it sweetened to. Arne.

see there is a problem with that when i draw a glass and sugar it to my liking the gremlins step in before i can get my hydrometer

And Arne is right 1.010 is pretty sweet, even though you are at 1.006 right now you would be very surprised at how fast the sweet level goes up.

well i added 1 cup and i also added some water, i will keep sugaring slowly (1 time per day) because i dont want to over do it, I gotta keep my guinea pig (wife) interested.

 

[Arne]

see there is a problem with that when i draw a glass and sugar it to my liking the gremlins step in before i can get my hydrometer



And here all this time I thought the gremlins were just a local thing. Looks like they are spreading all over. LOL, Arne

 

[Dend78]

yeah some people complain about the fruit flies but they are nothing compared to those gremlins lol

 

[hobbyiswine]

Dend, this a red or white concentrate? I ask because i have a red going now with similar recipe. It too has a big bite to it and i also added acid blend. Will likely not do that next time. It has turned into a bit of a problem child for me. Not really a problem i guess, more like a learning opportunity

 

[Dend78]

yes sir it is a red! my first red, there is something with wine making i have adopted "i can fix most anything with simple syrup" something i have come to live by and it seems to work really well "sugar up to 1.100 okay i guess it had to be done"

 

[Dend78]

bottled this last night now i just need my wife to taste it again and give her approval but to me it tastes just like red grape juice

 

[jswordy]

If your wife likes grape wine on the Mogan David scale, she'll like concord concentrate. I like a good sweet grape wine myself.

Next time you might try RC 212. Goes to 12% in primary and leaves residual sugar if you start at 1.100 or higher. Using 3 cans concentrate and 1 1/4 pound sugar per gallon, I have started it as high as 1.140. Wait for the primary ferment to quit dropping on the hydrometer and transfer to secondary (often about 1.050 or 1.040 after 5 to 8 days). Nice dessert wine.

I have 11.5 gallons in secondary now.

 

[jswordy]

Dend, this a red or white concentrate? I ask because i have a red going now with similar recipe. It too has a big bite to it and i also added acid blend. Will likely not do that next time. It has turned into a bit of a problem child for me. Not really a problem i guess, more like a learning opportunity

3 suggestions:

1.) Backsweetening by adding sugar will help cut the bite. Stabilize the wine first.

2.) Blending with more grape juice is also a way to cut down acidity.

3.) The longer you age it the less the bite will be, as well. This wine is really good at 6 months bottled but because it is viewed as a "hobo wine," it rarely makes it that far in most people's homes. If it gets to 6 months, you can start popping corks with abandon, because it will not improve much past that.

There are other things you can do chemically to tamp down thw acid, but this wine is not that highbrow to be worth the effort and expense.

As I mentioned, try the RC212 next time. I used 71B1122 a lot but really like the results of the RC212 since switching. It's is a red wine yeast.