WineXpert Sugar addition on a finished Kit Wine

[TNFISHRMAN]

I have two Vintners Reserve kits that are ready to be Bottled. On is the Mezza Lunna Red and the other is a Merlot. I would like to sweeten half of each batch to Dessert type wine and leave the other half dry. Is the Sorbate and Metabisulfate in these kits sufficient for extra sweetening or do I need to add more? Thank for any replies, Lynn

 

[MedPretzel]

Lynn,





I'm not a kitmaker, so I will go with my gut on this one: See how much you've got of the stuff (gram?) Usually, you put in 1/2 tsp sorbate for each gallon when making scratch wine, and it seems to be sufficient for stabilization. With kit wines, I am almost sure it's the same. The K-meta should be enough as well.





Anyone else? Thoughts?

 

[jobe05]

Lynn,


Im new at this and don't know if I could offer sound advise except to tell you that I just made a merlot and for me it was to dry. I prefer German type red wines (if I can't have a white), which is just off-dry, I wouldn't call it sweet, but off dry. I added sugar to this kit and didn't do anything to it other than the stuff that came with the kit. After I added the sugar, I waited to see if it was going to restart fermentation or not, and after a week or so, I bottled it. Only been a month or so since bottling, and no popped corks yet, so, so far so good.


Hope this helps.

 

[masta]

I weighed out some sorbateI have (LD Carlson) and it is 3 grams per tsp. The amount of sorbate included in most WE kits is 5.5 grams which is ~1.8 tsp. Using the standard of 1/2 tsp per gallon you need 3 tsp for a 6 gallon batch so it is shy by 1.2 tsp.

I would add a heavy 1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp per 1/2 batch or 3gals before sweetening to be safe...a little extra will not hurt at all.


Note: The kits that come with a F-Pack for sweetening have extra sorbate in the sweetening packs.

 

[TNFISHRMAN]

Thanks to all. I thought that I would need to add extra. Because of the low amount of Sorbate. I didn't know if too much would affect the taste though. What about if I add another 1/4 tsp. of Metabisulfate would this affect the taste or the wine??

 

[masta]

Adding an extra 1/4 tsp K-meta to the entire batch (6 gals) is normal procedure for extended aging as per the WE instructions.


If adding more I would add the 1/4 tsp to the whole batch or add 1/8 tsp to the half you want to sweeten.

 

[TNFISHRMAN]

Masta, I finished it just like you suggested. I had 13 bottles that were bottled dry and 15 that I finished sweetened to a Dessert wine. I'll have to say that Wine Expert Mezza Luna Red is really good in my opinion. Although I am not a big wine drinker, I leave that to my wife. The dry was good and so was the Dessert style of it.

 

[masta]

Glad it came out well!

 

[peterCooper]

Why is it called an F-pack?

 

[geocorn]

F stands for Finishing Blend.