# Adding flavors to Welch's Grape Juice Wine



## AlaskaSmokedSalmon (Mar 10, 2010)

I usually make wine from kits but have recently made a Welch's Grape Juice wine. I think it was from a recipe posted on this forum. It tasted ok but seemed more like it would be a good base recipe to experiment with. 

I know a lot of figuring out what and how much to add will be up to my personal likes and just trial and error. But I was hoping someone might have some simple guidelines to follow, or some advice if they have tried this themselves. 

For example my next batch of Welch's Grape Wine I want to have flavors of Blackberries, a hint of Mocha, oak flavor and medium to strong tannins. The problem is I'm not even sure how much Blackberries to add to even get in the ballpark. Should I use 1lb of blackberries for 6 gallons of wine or 6 lbs? Will it even be the slightest bit noticeable at 1lb per 6 gallons or way to overpowering at 6 lbs? Is it even possible to add Mocha flavor? etc etc etc. 

I've done a lot of searches but everything comes back as just the basic most simple recipe for the Welch's. I can't find any altered or "advanced" Welch's Grape Wine recipes.

Cheers,
Seth


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## BobF (Mar 10, 2010)

AlaskaSmokedSalmon said:


> I usually make wine from kits but have recently made a Welch's Grape Juice wine. I think it was from a recipe posted on this forum. It tasted ok but seemed more like it would be a good base recipe to experiment with.
> 
> I know a lot of figuring out what and how much to add will be up to my personal likes and just trial and error. But I was hoping someone might have some simple guidelines to follow, or some advice if they have tried this themselves.
> 
> ...


 
You didn't say if you're talking about concord or niagra. There are a lot of recipes that use niagra as a base.

I'm planning to do a concord with elderberry next season, but I haven't done it yet.

So far, my favorite Welch's wine is Black Cherry/Concord. Seems to me a lot of things could take the place of the black cherry.


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## Wade E (Mar 10, 2010)

Typically its 6 lbs per gallonbut that would be full strenght, you would most likely want around 3 1/2 lbs per gallon. You are not going to get strong tannins from a Welches Grape so you will need to buy something like Scotts labs Tan Cor tannin product to do this. http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=015430A
I dont see any Mocha here but there are many other flavors to choose from.
http://www.finevinewines.com/Home-Wine-Making-Addiitives-Liquor-Extracts.asp


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## AlaskaSmokedSalmon (Mar 11, 2010)

Thanks BobF, I'll be making concord grape wine as the base. Do you happen to have the Black Cherry/Concord recipe handy. I like the idea of using that as a template and changing the fruit to experiment.

Wade E, thanks for the tip about 3 1/2 lbs per gallon for the additional fruit. I was thinking 6 lbs for the whole 6 gallons so I would have been way off. I had a suspicion I would need to add tannins. Anything else you can think of that I need to add to make the Concords more like wine grapes? I know I won't be able to duplicate grapes from the Douro Valley but I'd like to try!  


Cheers,
Seth


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## NSwiner (Mar 11, 2010)

I have one going that I mixed welches white grape/pear juice & cranberry/ pomegranate juice right from the start .So far it seems really good ,I have it back sweetened & stablized & aging it now .


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## BobF (Mar 11, 2010)

AlaskaSmokedSalmon said:


> Thanks BobF, I'll be making concord grape wine as the base. Do you happen to have the Black Cherry/Concord recipe handy. I like the idea of using that as a template and changing the fruit to experiment.


 
This won't help with proportions b/c the juice is premixed ... it does give an idea of how good things mix with concord!

For 1 gallon:

1 gal Welch's Black Cherry/Concord juice
acid to .6-.7
sugar to SG 1095 
pectic enzyme (per instructions)
tannin (to your preference)
yeast nutrient
your favorite yeast (I've used Montrachet & V1116)

The juice is pasteurized, so the initial sulfite is optional, but give the pectic enzyme ~12 hours prior to pitching yeast.

Follow the 'standard' process ... stabalize/back-sweeten to taste. Don't forget to check/adjust acid prior to sweetening!

Easy and VERY tasty.

I have 3 gal batches of straight Welch's concord and elderberry in secondary now. I'll definitely be blending part of them to decide on whether or not to do a full batch of concord/elderberry next season.

I also have 3 gal of straight apple juice with a single can of concord concentrate cleared and ready to stabalize/sweeten. Tasting so far tells me this will be a very good early drinker. 

The apple/concord was also fermented with V1116. The more I use V1116, the more I like it!


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