Next step for muscadine wine ?

[rita36]

Started fermentation 15 days ago with an S.G. of 1.1.
2/2 1.03
2/4 1.004
2/5 1.002
2/8 1.00
2/10 .996

I think I'm suppose to get the same s.g for three days before I do anything else .


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[dralarms]

Yes, 3 days straight. But at .996 it ain't going much farther. I would sorbate and kmeta. But that's me. Muscadine usually needs just a bit of sugar to bring out the flavor. I'd let it clear and then sweeten. I really like Muscadine wine. One of my favorites.

One thing to remember: the only wrong way to make wine is to make something that you don't like.

 

[rita36]

That's for sure. I made some pear/apple and it was disgusting to me. Had a bad taste. I'm thinking the alcohol level was too high. That's before I got my S.G meter. I love my muscadine wine sweet and will definetly add sugar to it. The taste is very dry and sharp right now. I think I will test again tonight and then again tomorrow. If the same I will add sugar and sorbate. My sorbate should come in tomorrow


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[rita36]

And my K-meta also


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[rita36]

Just checked S.G. - it's .992


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[jamesngalveston]

just keep watching that sg....after it stops fermenting, clear it, sorbate it, sweeten it.
note:...dont overly sweeten, because in about 3 mos it will be too sweet.
not advising , just saying.

 

[Turock]

You should not add sorbate until the wine is clear. Which means it needs to spend some time in bulk aging, first.

 

[garymc]

I'd get it into a carboy. I usually transfer mine before it stops fermenting, but after it slows. 1.010 or lower. Then I know there's some CO2 in the carboy headspace. I let it go until it's definitely done, and let it rest long enough to settle and clear somewhat. Then I rack and add k-meta and let it age, settle if it hasn't, and clear some more if it hasn't. Then 3 months later another rack and k-meta, taking care to observe the bottom of the carboy for sediment or crystals. Before adding the k-meta I taste. If it's mellowed some, I'll consider sorbate and sweetening a few days later. I'm looking to get the wine a little aged before sweetening. A couple of times I've sweetened green wine and had to sweeten too much to overcome the harshness. Then a few months later it was too sweet for my taste. It's hard to guess if and how much the wine will mellow with age.

 

[Julie]

at .992, I would rack and add k-meta.

 

[Turock]

That's another good point, garymc!!! Sweetening a green wine,and using sorbate when the wine is cloudy is bad enough. But then you find that once the wine has aged and changed in its complexity, that you now have an imbalanced wine because it's too sweet.

The protocol for backsweetening is----when it's ready to be bottled. It should be cleared thru bulk aging---aged so that the flavor has come forward---THEN determine how much sugar it needs to balance the remaining acids. It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to evaluate a young wine---you'll almost always sweeten it too much, and taste attributes that disappear(because they are NOT the characteristics of the fruit) after the proper amount of time in bulk aging.

 

[garymc]

On the other hand, I've tasted a number of homemade wines at wine contests and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people use sugar to cover up a lot of different problems with wine. It tends to give sweet wines a bad name.

 

[Turock]

Or maybe they have the idea that they have to hit a certain level of sweetness for the wines in "sweet class." We went round and round with the judges about that very issue. A sweet wine shouldn't be about a certain SG--it should only have enough sugar to balance the acids. There are many wines that have delicate flavors, and if you get the SG too high, the flavor is really tamped down. Sweetening a wine is an art, if you ask me.

 

[rita36]

Ok... Tonight I will rack into another Carboy and let it age some before I add the sorbate and sugar. From the suggestions I got this makes since.


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