Cellar Craft Wine conditioner for Zinfandel

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Buffman

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The instructions to the CC Old Vine Zinfandel I'm making indicate that I can add "wine conditioner" just before bottling if I prefer a sweeter wine. I tend to like zins a little sweet, so I'm considering it. What is wine conditioner? Any tips on its use?
 
Wine conditioner is grape concentrate with a small amount of sorbate and so2 added to it. The amounts of sorbate and so2 are small so you need to make sure that you have followed the kits instructions and have all recommended additions in your wine already.
 
Different companies make a Wine Conditioner. It is basically a Simple syrup and Potassium Sorbate I believe. At least the Wine Expert brand is I believe I have used the Wine Expert brand and hated it. It gave an almost medicinal taste to my wines. If you use sorbate in your wine to stabilize you can make a simple syrup with table sugar and water and simply add to you desired taste after the wine is stabilized. No further sorbate is needed. That is what most of us do.
 
Wine conditioner is grape concentrate with a small amount of sorbate and so2 added to it. The amounts of sorbate and so2 are small so you need to make sure that you have followed the kits instructions and have all recommended additions in your wine already.

That sounds like an F Pack to me. I haven't used a Wine Conditioner in over 3 years though and I honestly can't remember the ingredient list.
 
This is what I have used. It is Invert Sugar and Sorbate. I did not like the results at all. I have made my own Invert sugar though and added after stabilizing and it was fantastic.


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Smurfe that is the same conditioner I was refering to. I like your idea of a simple syrup addition no additional flavours to add to the process that way.
 
Yes, that is just an inverted sugar which has enough sorbate in there to keep the product itself from fermenting so either way you will have to use sorbate on your wine. I would use simple syrup myself as those conditioners always seem to leave a artificial taste in wines to me.
 
Great advice. Simple syrup, as in 2 parts sugar to 1 part water? I have dextrose (corn sugar) and regular table sugar.
 
I use table sugar in wine and corn sugar in making beer. Boil the water first and while its still hoy but heat off mix in the sugar slowly and let it cool.
 
I sampled the wine after degassing and it seemed marginally sweeter than when I racked it several days prior. Will that trend continue in the bottle? I'm reconsidering sweetening the wine.
 

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