Step feeding, & SG

[CUZN_J]

I have read that you can step feed your must, now I understand that you need to do SG readings, so if you have done your beginning SG reading, ex- 1.090 and then you re-feed some sugar the next day-whenever, if the SG has dropped to a level ex- 1.050 that you measure, then would you re-measure after you do the re-feed, or how would you go about finding the ABV, looks to me you would have to start after the re-feed as you do at the beginning, and go to finish, for a second time, but you would need to add in the first feed SG readings. The way I see it = .090 - .050 = .040 , then re-feed, SG goes back up to .090, then you let it finish out to .995, 1.090 - 0.995 = .095 so first SG ABV = .040 +(second SG ABV) = .095 ==.135 X 131.25 = 17.718_ABV . Am I anywhere near being right or how should this be done, this step feeding seems like a way to increase the ABV of your wine to pretty strong Wine, if I am thinking correctly..

 

[user 36973]

That's the general idea, if higher ABV is what you are seeking. You just need to track the initial and final sugar levels along with any additions along the way. Be sure to provide sufficient yeast nutrients since this will be a hostile environment for the yeast.

You need to make sure you are using a yeast that can tolerate the higher alcohol levels. EC1118 is the go-to yeast for high alcohol tolerance, but otherwise it is a rather bland yeast.

 

[salcoco]

your technique is correct. I actually calculate abv for each step and add together same result. normally done to develop a port wine no need to add spirits using this method. I usually wait until it drops to 1010 then increase to 1020 . using smaller steps insure you can go all the way and if not fermented you have some residual sugar to balance the alcohol

 

[CUZN_J]

That's the general idea, if higher ABV is what you are seeking. You just need to track the initial and final sugar levels along with any additions along the way. Be sure to provide sufficient yeast nutrients since this will be a hostile environment for the yeast.

You need to make sure you are using a yeast that can tolerate the higher alcohol levels. EC1118 is the go-to yeast for high alcohol tolerance, but otherwise it is a rather bland yeast.

thanks, nice to know, I am catching on to some things.

 

[CUZN_J]

your technique is correct. I actually calculate abv for each step and add together same result. normally done to develop a port wine no need to add spirits using this method. I usually wait until it drops to 1010 then increase to 1020 . using smaller steps insure you can go all the way and if not fermented you have some residual sugar to balance the alcohol

thanks, nice to know, I am catching on to some things.

 

[cmason1957]

Your technique is mostly correct. When you add sugar, you effect the volume of the wine and slightly dilute the ABV. If you want to be totally accurate, you would need to take that into account. I think this is the post (from quite a while back) that talks about how to deal with this. https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/seths-correction-equation.32839

FWIW and YMMV, I do what you do to calculate, I seem to recall that the percentage difference is down around 10%, so if you were to come up with 18% ABV, it might really only be 16.2%. The actual ABV will always be lower, due to the dilution factor.