Question about Red Grape Concentrate

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Bodenski

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2016
Messages
244
Reaction score
106
Good evening all. Newbie fruit wine maker here. I've started a Blackberry port recipe that I got from Jack Keller's website. Although I have several months to go before I'm supposed to bottle it, I'm starting to think about the "Red Grape Concentrate" that it calls for.

The recipe calls for "one cup" (I'm making one gallon), and the only thing I seem to find for concentrate is the 1 L Global Vinters box. I have two recipes that call for it, and it seems I'd have more leftover than I'd use. Are there any decent substitutes for it in recipes? It seems that Welch's concord grape concentrate wouldn't quite do it, but that's a guess.

Since I really want to make this gallon work (it was a lot of money spent on blackberries already) I know I should probably just suck it up and get the "real" concentrate. But I wanted to know if anyone has had good luck with substitutes for it.

Regards,

James
 
Good evening all. Newbie fruit wine maker here. I've started a Blackberry port recipe that I got from Jack Keller's website. Although I have several months to go before I'm supposed to bottle it, I'm starting to think about the "Red Grape Concentrate" that it calls for.

The recipe calls for "one cup" (I'm making one gallon), and the only thing I seem to find for concentrate is the 1 L Global Vinters box. I have two recipes that call for it, and it seems I'd have more leftover than I'd use. Are there any decent substitutes for it in recipes? It seems that Welch's concord grape concentrate wouldn't quite do it, but that's a guess.

Since I really want to make this gallon work (it was a lot of money spent on blackberries already) I know I should probably just suck it up and get the "real" concentrate. But I wanted to know if anyone has had good luck with substitutes for it.

Regards,

James
I'd vote for the real thing. Once opened it can be stored in the refrigerator for quite some time to be used in another batch of something. I've used it in both a blackberry and a blueberry batch, so maybe you can make a blueberry batch after this one?

Plus, two cups is .47 liters, so you'd only have 1/2 of it left (you could also make larger batches??).
 
I have to convince the wife to join me before I start making bigger batches :)

Yeah, I think I'll just suck it up, and I do have a plan for a blueberry batch as well. I just wanted to check if there were other options. Thanks for the feedback!
 
I always understood him to mean Concord/Welch's.
In this case, I believe you are right...

Per Jack himself:

Weak-bodied non-grape wines can be improved in the same way (by blending) or by adding a small amount of concentrate directly to a must known to produce a weak-bodied wine (watermelon and most flower or herbal wines are perfect examples). For these purposes, however, I strongly recommend you use an inexpensive general purpose frozen grape concentrate. Two such concentrates I've found useful for adding to non-grape musts are Welch's 100% Grape Frozen Concentrate, made from 100% Concord grapes, and Welch's 100% White Grape Frozen Concentrate, made from 100% Niagara grapes. These make far more sense than opening a $25 to $40 half-gallon can of Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc concentrate.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/concentr.asp

Not that blackberry is necessarily weak bodied, but I think the concept still applies in this case/recipe...
 
one way to make it interesting is using Blackberry brandy. do bench trials to see what fits best. the leftover can be used for any event. don't have an event makeup one.
 
I must have missed that on his website. Lots to go through. Thanks for the help. That brings the cost down per bottle for sure!
 
one way to make it interesting is using Blackberry brandy. do bench trials to see what fits best. the leftover can be used for any event. don't have an event makeup one.
This is tempting. :dg
 
I'd vote for the real thing. Once opened it can be stored in the refrigerator for quite some time to be used in another batch of something. I've used it in both a blackberry and a blueberry batch, so maybe you can make a blueberry batch after this one?

Plus, two cups is .47 liters, so you'd only have 1/2 of it left (you could also make larger batches??).

curious on this. I have some extra red grape concentrate, not the Welches cans, that I opened in October and refrigerated. would they still be good here 6 months later? Same thing with some Niagara fruit wine base. I opened up a big jug of this in late January 2020.
 
Sorry, haven't been on here much. I'd clean your finger and dip it in there and see if there is any sour taste to it. That's six months and depends on how it was stored in the fridge (container and airtightness I'm thinking). I'd buy a new concentrate unless it is something that you can't easily get. Who knows, maybe there was a run on concentrate like on tp and paper towels.
 
I've kept concentrate in the frig for up to a year. Just make sure you squeeze the bag to get all the air out before storing. An i agree with Ceeaton, give it a sniff and finger taste before using - it'll let you know real quick if it's gone bad
 

Latest posts

Back
Top