Sugars to use in winemaking?

[murphyaii]

I've been pondering on this topic.
is demera sugar a good substitute to ferment a white wine?

 

[botigol]

Offhand, it wouldn't seem to be a good idea:

Demerara - This is a type of cane sugar with a fairly large grain and a pale amber color. It has a pleasant toffee flavor and can be used in place of brown sugar.

However, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your flavor profile. I haven't used it myself, so I don't know how strong the toffee flavor could be.

 

[Schattenmann]

Jack Keller has several recipes calling for demerara: walnut leaf, celery, strawberry, wheat, etc. Do a Google search for "site:http://winemaking.jackkeller.net demerara"

Lots of warnings out there not to fool with molasses, though obviously demerara has very little of it.

 

[murphyaii]

thanks guys.
didn't know that different sugars give different flavours as i thought sugar was sugar

 

[murphyaii]

making a magnum pinot grigio from a kit

 

[Noontime]

Like others have said, I'd be cautious. Molasses has a very bitter flavor and can really turn a flavor profile in the wrong direction. We've played around with brown sugar and molasses in a few beers and wines (wines like banana bread and sweet potato), and have come to the conclusion that if you can taste it, it detracts from the wine (severely sometimes with an acrid flavor).

I'm all for experimentation, just remember that not all sugars are the same. Brown sugars are not fully refined so they have molasses in them, powdered sugar probably has an anti-caking agent added, and then there are non fermentable sugars like maltodextrin and lactose and many others. Do a quick search online before using anything other than cane sugar and you'll probably be fine.

 

[murphyaii]

over here in ireland we use beet sugar instead of cane.
I was using the standard white beet sugar but will provide feedback on demerara

 

[JohnT]

over here in ireland we use beet sugar instead of cane.
I was using the standard white beet sugar but will provide feedback on demerara

Question: aren't cane and beet sugars both sucrose?