strawberry wine s.g. after sweetening

[mersydo]

i made a batch of strawberry wine about 6 months ago. i bottled the first 3 gallons a week ago, but decided to backsweeten the last 2 gallons before bottling it. i put in the sorbate ( 1 teaspoon ) and camden tablets ( 2 ) after crushing-about 3 days ago. the s.g. at this point was .990. then i added the dissolved syrup mix ( 2cups boiling water and 4 cups sugar )-this was done yesterday. i checked today and the s.g. was up to 1.012. is this normal?? for some reason i thought by adding the sorbate then there would be no change in the s.g.

any suggestions/answers will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MRM]

Anytime you add sugar the GS will go up. I'm no expert but at the SG1.012 I think your wine will be sweet. If the sweetness is to your liking remember the GS and you can use that as reference to sweeten in the future.

 

[winemaker_3352]

The addition of sorbate does not prohibit the SG from raising. Sorbate prevents yeast from re-fermentation.

The addition of sugars, syrup, juice, etc - will either raise/lower your SG.

 

[sly22guy]

I like to add my sugar to taste. you can also use simple sryup. and yes sugar will affect your sg readings.

 

[djrockinsteve]

The addition of sorbate does not prohibit the SG from raising. Sorbate prevents yeast from re-fermentation.

Sorbate prevents yeasts from "budding" reproducing. If you had any yeasts that had survived (lay dormant) and you added sugar they may begin to start fermentation again. Even if you added sorbate those living could thrive until they die but would not be able to breed.

Normally the lack of nutrients, sugar and oxygen along with the alcohol will cause the yeasts to perrish.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Sorbate prevents yeasts from "budding" reproducing. If you had any yeasts that had survived (lay dormant) and you added sugar they may begin to start fermentation again. Even if you added sorbate those living could thrive until they die but would not be able to breed.

Normally the lack of nutrients, sugar and oxygen along with the alcohol will cause the yeasts to perrish.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[kirbyclk]

a S.G. of 1.01 is not too sweet to my tastes. I have measured store bought fruit wines and they are sometimes 1.03 and even 1.04. I sampled a friends homemade wild cherry wine last week that was 1.05.

your 1.01 should be just fine!

 

[Wade E]

Kirby, wines that high as mention would be Ice Wines. Maybe you are thinking of 1.001? At 1.012 it would be called usually sweet, that said I like some of my fruit wines that high. The others I like around 1.006 or there abouts.

 

[kirbyclk]

Kirby, wines that high as mention would be Ice Wines. Maybe you are thinking of 1.001? At 1.012 it would be called usually sweet, that said I like some of my fruit wines that high. The others I like around 1.006 or there abouts.

Just last week, I bought an Oliver Winery soft red wine which measures 1.03 and then a White Owl Winery Sweet Liberty which measured 1.04

Found this from another site and I had a post asking about it before:

Dry: <1.000
Medium dry: 1.000-1.010
Medium sweet: 1.010-1.020
Sweet: 1.020-1.030
Dessert: 1.030-1.040

 

[djrockinsteve]

In that general neighborhood. It's meant to be a rough rule of thumb.

From time to time I would buy a few btls. of wine and take their gravity readings just to educate myself. Start off on the low side and adjust up to how YOU like it. Once you've done a few you'll get an idea.

I start off with a beaker and a small amount of inverted sugar for testing. Once I find where I want the gravity I'll calculate how much sugar I need and warm up some wine and invert.

 

[SBWs]

It is not a good idea to tie S.G. readings and sweetness together. One Strawberry wine may be sweet at an S.G. of 1.012 while another may not be sweet at 1.020. I learned this the hard way with my first Raspberry. I had a very good Raspberry form the finger lakes region of NY, I checked the S.G. and then adjusted mine to the same S.G.. My Raspberry is now very sweet. Live and Learn!

 

[djrockinsteve]

It is not a good idea to tie S.G. readings and sweetness together. One Strawberry wine may be sweet at an S.G. of 1.012 while another may not be sweet at 1.020. I learned this the hard way with my first Raspberry. I had a very good Raspberry form the finger lakes region of NY, I checked the S.G. and then adjusted mine to the same S.G.. My Raspberry is now very sweet. Live and Learn!

That is correct. The difference is a result of the wines ph. I was referring to wines of a similar nature as a rough rule of thumb.

When I do mini samples I usually will do 4 or 5 points of gravity different. Then plus or minus the ones that is closest. I'm usually within 1 or 2 points....so far.