I want a sweeter wine

[Donatelo]

I was told by a forum member that my PA is 15.23 %. I'm making a Chardonnay with some peach added. Before bottling I'd like to bring the PA down to about 13% and sweeten the wine a little.
I found the water / sugar calculator that tells me to add 117 oz, of water to bring the PA down to around 13 %.
Will 2 lbs of sugar be too much added to that almost a gallon of water? I don't want it too sweet , but right now it tastes rather dry. That, added to my 6 gallons of wine would bring it to just under 7 gallons.



Semper Fi, y'all,

 

[Julie]

Not sure what PA is. Is this potential alcohol? How did this forum member come up with this number? You needed to take a beginning hydrometer reading and an ending hydrometer reading to be able to calculate your ABV. Can you post your recipe? It would be a lot easier to give you advice knowing what you have already done.

 

[bkisel]

At this point I'd proceed by tasting... Add some water and sugar, maybe half of what you've calculated, stir in gently and then taste. Adjust accordingly.

Are you a Marine? I was in the Corps 62-66.

Semper Fi

 

[salcoco]

adding sugar syrup will reduce the alcohol level as well. tste is paramount. I suggest making a sugar syrup , two cups sugar to one cup hot water, mix in a blender. take about two or three sample of the wine about 1/4 cup each this is equal to 60ml per sample. add 1/4 tsp=1.25 ml to first. twice the second. three time the third etc. do taste test.find the best combo make a small batch about 500ml with the best combo add potassium sorbate to 500ml sample. check after 7-10 days if sweetness level fine then add sugar syrup to major batch the amount decided. add k-meta and potassium sorbate to prevent fermentation. wait a couple of weeks if no activity bottle.

 

[Donatelo]

Yep, bkisel. 61-68 Pendleton, Kaniohe, Hi. Okinawa. Hue City V N. Mcaas Yuma.

Julie
I don't know which member told me that. One of the senior members.
I bought a box of Chardonnay concentrate (RJS kit) plus a 98 0z can of peach pulp at the wine makers store in Moore, OK. Oct15- made the kit according to instructions plus added the 98 oz of peach pulp. It makes 6 gallons. Mixed it well and got a SG of 1.110. Added the Lalvin yeast provided.
Oct24th - I racked it into the carboy after checking that it had quit working. SG .994
Oct 28th. I used a wine thief and extracted 1 oz for a taste test. Seemed dry like a Reisling.
On Nov 5th I am supposed to do another racking for stabilizing and clearing adding the packets they provided.
On Nov 19th I am supposed to Bottle and cork.
This is all per the instructions with the exception of adding the peach pulp.
I want a light , slightly sweet wine(Table wine).
Now, Julie, what do you suggest I do to sweeten this?

 

[Julie]

Make sure you stabilize before adding anymore sugar to it. One cup of sugar will raise sg .018. You can use a simple sugar but I never like adding anymore water to my wine, so I take a little wine and add sugar to that. Three cups would bring the sg around 1.003 but I am not sure if that would be too sweet for you. I think I would start out with a cup and a half of sugar, add that back in and taste. If it isn't sweet enough then add a 1/2 cup at a time. And once you have it where you want it take a reading and write it down, so the next time around you know.

Good Luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[tjgaul]

Water please

Make sure you stabilize before adding anymore sugar to it. One cup of sugar will raise sg .018. You can use a simple sugar but I never like adding anymore water to my wine, so I take a little wine and add sugar to that. Three cups would bring the sg around 1.003 but I am not sure if that would be too sweet for you. I think I would start out with a cup and a half of sugar, add that back in and taste. If it isn't sweet enough then add a 1/2 cup at a time. And once you have it where you want it take a reading and write it down, so the next time around you know.

Good Luck and let us know how it turns out.

I agree with Julie in principal and adding sugar to sweeten will hide the heat from the high alcohol content to some degree. However, if you truly want to get the ABV (alcohol by volume) down to a more reasonable level you will need to dilute your batch with water. Note that as you add water you will also be diluting the strength of the flavor of the batch so you will want to add it in increments (just like the sugar) until you get a finished flavor you are happy with. Don't be afraid to let the wine sit a day or 2 between adjustments to let things blend and remember that if you are going to age this wine, the perceived sweetness will continue to grow over time. Ditto on writing down the final SG. Very good info to have down the road.

Also, since this is basically a finished wine, be sure that any water added meets proper sanitation standards.

Good luck . . . hope you end up with a very quaffable batch.

 

[Donatelo]

Thx Julie and tjgaul. I will make the changes four days before I intend to bottle, doing so incrementally, until I get a better taste. And yes I will take the SG along the way.

 

[Jack7033]

I would suggest bench trials to find the level of sugar you like. One added it is there and too late to change. Why add water? Why not just Domino’w cane sugar. Why dilute the wine to 1/7 th ?