Sweetening & Bottling

[eachese]

This is my first try at wine-making and we are using a Vino del Vida Merlot kit. Unfortunately we haven't been about to bottle it yet, but we're past the 28 days the instructions say. As long as the specific gravity is okay, is there a problem bottling it late? How do we figure out the final alcohol content? And any suggestions on sweetening the wine before bottling? We bought a bottle of sweetener (I forget the name of it) but I'm nervous to use it.

THANKS!



How do we

 

[Rocky]

Trust the hydrometer, not the calendar. Best bet is to ferment the wine to dry (i.e. SG 0.992 or so) and then back sweeten the wine to your taste. The final ABV will be (Initial SG - Final SG) x 131. If you plan to back sweeten the wine, you have to stabilize it first with Potassium Metabisulfite (1/4 t per 5 or 6 gallons) and Potassium Sorbate (1/2 t per gallon). This will protect the wine against re-fermentation from the sweetener. BTW, not sure what you bought as a "sweeterer" but I would recommend table sugar made into a simple syrup (2 parts sugar completely dissolved in 1 part water). Also, make sure to bench test you additions with a small quantity and then scale it up for the entire batch. Go on the light side with the sugar. You can always add more but reducing it is a whole other problem. Most people can begin to discern sweetness at an SG of 1.000. Really sweet wines are 1.020, but it is a matter of taste.

 

[eachese]

THANK YOU! Very helpful!

What I bought is Global Vintners Inc. Wine Conditioner. It says to add to wine after stabilizing and clearing (2oz/gal min).

 

[botigol]

I don't have experience with wine conditioner (I bought a bottle, but haven't used it yet), but from what I have read in these forums you probably want to start out lighter than the instructions suggest. Some people notice a metallic flavor when too much is used...this is subjective of course, so it may occur at light levels for you. You should probably do a search to verify, but I seem to recall others suggesting to start with 1/2oz/gal. Just to stress what Rocky wrote, it is much easier to add sweetness than take it away.

 

[Putterrr]

Careful adding things to your wines all at once as you cant take it out again. I would never go by what the bottle says. My suggestion would add it 1 oz at a time, stir well and then taste. If you want more, then repeat the same process. This slow approach will ensure you don't overdue it.

Also since you have a merlot, it is usually on the dry side. You might try glycerin. It will add body without sweetening much

cheers

 

[eachese]

Thank you all for your quick responses! Nice to have found a place to rely on for our wino questions!


We just pulled a sample... SG= 1.000. We tasted and liked it so I don't think we'll end up sweetening anyway. We just assumed that being a merlot that it would be too dry for us but it was sweeter than we expected! Our final ABV is 10.48. I'd say our first wine experience has been a success!! (Once its actually in the bottles...)

 

[botigol]

Since your SG reading is a little high, you may want to hold off on the bottling for at least a couple of days. 2-3 readings over a 3-day period is a good idea. If fermentation has completely finished the SG shouldn't change. 1.000 is just a bit high to bottle without consistent readings.

 

[dralarms]

That wine conditioner s garbage, don't use it. I used it to stabilize a wine once, after 2 bottles it still was not right. Stick with potassium sorbate and k-meta.

 

[eachese]

Ok now I'm worried...

Starting SG = 1.080
14 days = .998
Today (about 2 months from starting) = 1.000

We realize now we should have taken more SG readings. Our wine kit instructions don't specify what the final SG should be but I'm assuming the SG shouldn't have gone up? I's clear, it smells and tastes good...

 

[botigol]

Usually the SG should not go up, but since it has been two months you are probably fine. The odds of fermentation continuing this long are low. It could be that you misread one measurement or the other. Did you correct your SG measurements for temperature? Did you degas? What temperature did you ferment at? Basically there are a few things that it could be, but again after two months you should be good. And very importantly, it's clear and it smells and tastes good. If you start finding carbonated bottles, start to worry. If not...Enjoy!