# Increasing Alcohol content with sugar?



## jdaniels9

Can I just add sugar to a wine kit and up the amount of alcohol in it?

How much sugar should I add? Do I have to add anything else to support the extra sugar? (more yeast or something)

Thanks


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## robie

What kit are you trying to tweak?

Dissolve sugar in a small amount or warm water to make a simple syrup.
Amount depends on how much you want to raise the alcohol level.

The yeast you use for fermentation is rated as to how high an alcohol level it can tolerate. Make sure the total ABV does not surpass this level. 

Make sure that total volume of must, with water and added sugar, does not surpass kit's recommend volume. In other words, if it is a 23 liter kit, try to keep the total volume at 23 liters. Otherwise, you will be diluting your wine. 

1.5 oz. of table sugar per US gallon of projected liquid raises the ºBrix by 1°. Use the triple scales on your hydrometer to determine how much additional Brix you need to reach desired ABV.

Remember that raising alcohol can (but not always) cause wine to taste like jet fuel for several months after fermentation, so be prepared to age such wine a little longer. This doesn't seem to be a problem for mist kits. It is best to tell us what kit and to ask specifically of those who have tweaked your same kit.


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## MN-winer

I agree with Robie. Tweaking kits can upset the balance of the kit. For a Mist kit it seems to work - in fact I have one brewing now that I upped the SG to 1.076 instead of the 1.05. But the other wines, tweaking may upset the balance of the kit. If you did this to a WE VR kit it would make the wine tasteless and like rocket fuel.


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## CoachPieps

I also agree, becare tweeting kits. But if yo are making from scratch you can set the starting SG anywhere. I have started as low as 1.060 or as high as 1.10


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## brenjmull

Oh no, I should or read this before I did anything. I have a kit of VR reisling working,, I just finished a VR chardonnay that is great tasting, but the alcohol is very low it seems.. no buzz after 2 glasses. So I read on another post to add some sugar to it to start the fermentation back up. So I added a cup of sugar to iit this morning, it started bubbling really good. So I am thinking it is still fermenting? Did I just ruin my wine? I was going to let it go another 4-5 days before racking..Now I read here that I might of turned it into rocket fuel!! Yikes.....................


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## Wade E

Did you take a gravity reading before and after adding th sugar? What was the starting gravity of this wine kit? You may be ok but without knowing these things we really have no idea nor do you. Always use a hydrometer so as you know how much alc you are making.


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## PPBart

brenjmull said:


> Oh no, I should or read this before I did anything. I have a kit of VR reisling working,, I just finished a VR chardonnay that is great tasting, but the alcohol is very low it seems.. no buzz after 2 glasses. So I read on another post to add some sugar to it to start the fermentation back up. So I added a cup of sugar to iit this morning, it started bubbling really good. So I am thinking it is still fermenting? Did I just ruin my wine? I was going to let it go another 4-5 days before racking..Now I read here that I might of turned it into rocket fuel!! Yikes.....................



Relax... Adding a cup of sugar to a 6-gallon batch won't hurt anything. However, I do agree with the need for getting and using a hydrometer (and recording results for later reference!).


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## brenjmull

I do have a hydrometer, before adding the sugar it was at 1010..


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## dj04

So if I am looking to raise the % of alcohol in a mist (6 gal) how much sugar can I add without having a bad batch? I have heard four pounds of sugar you can add. And if I was looking to do the same only for a RJ Spangols kit how much can I add? Thanks


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## Noontime

A good rule of thumb is 1 cup sugar raises 1gallon's s.g. by .020 (and 1# sugar = 2.36 cups). So you can see why PPBart said you have nothing to worry about...you need to add A LOT of sugar to significantly raise the SG. Make sure you take good notes as to what you add and the SG at the time, because you'll have to do some math to figure out what the final alcohol is when it's done.


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## nancy11254

i have a zinfandel blush that i just started tonight. the beginning s.g. was 1.086. i want to raise the alcohol content, can i just add sugar or do i have to mix it with water prior to adding it. i don't want to add any more water to it because i kept the water content at the mark. i read where you can add a cup of sugar but wanted to make sure it was okay to add just the sugar to the fermenting wine that i just started. i know that zinfandel wines are usually high alcohol volumes originally.


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## ckvchestnut

I've added it without any water without problems... Just give it a vigorous stir after each cup. How long since you pitched the yeast? If really close to your original SG reading you wouldn't have to recalculate how much sugar to add to get your finished abv. What size batch are u doing? You'll likely need to add more than one cup for a 5 or 6 gallon batch to bring the SG up by 10 points. Use your hydrometer after each time you add a cup or 2 until you get to the number you want...


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## Noontime

You can the sugar dry, but if there is already fermentation going DO IT SLOWLY. The sugar crystals will create thousands of nucleation sites for the CO2 being produced by the yeast and you will have an explosion of foam. There's no problem doing it...just start off slow to make sure you don't get any surprises.


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## Noontime

I also just realized the tardiness of my reply, so...um...never mind.


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## Loxalibations

Along the same line, typically how much sugar (roughly) does a kit take to raise must to 1.085 +\- .005. ? My 6 gallons from frozen berries (not grape)needed 10# sugar plus 5 cans of grape concentrate to get that level. The price of kit would not be bad if it does not require a lot of additives. I am new at this, but need to keep what I am spending in mind.


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## ckvchestnut

I have an app on my phone called wine calc, you just plug in your numbers and it tells you how sugar you need to put in to get to a certain SG. I'm sure there are wine calcs for the computer also. I think there is a thread in the beginners section that has info on wine calcs too.


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## jamesngalveston

http://www.brewersfriend.com/chaptalization-calculator/


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## grapeman

Loxalibations said:


> Along the same line, typically how much sugar (roughly) does a kit take to raise must to 1.085 +\- .005. ? My 6 gallons from frozen berries (not grape)needed 10# sugar plus 5 cans of grape concentrate to get that level. The price of kit would not be bad if it does not require a lot of additives. I am new at this, but need to keep what I am spending in mind.


 
Most kits should already be at that level so there would be no reason to add sugar. Exceptions could be the Island Mist and related type which are more of a cooler type alcohol level.


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## turkeylipz

Loxalibations said:


> Along the same line, typically how much sugar (roughly) does a kit take to raise must to 1.085 +\- .005. ? My 6 gallons from frozen berries (not grape)needed 10# sugar plus 5 cans of grape concentrate to get that level. The price of kit would not be bad if it does not require a lot of additives. I am new at this, but need to keep what I am spending in mind.



For 6 gallons of must? 12.2447037532966 oz of sugar.....roughly

((Liters of Must*Start SG*(Desired Brix - Starting Brix)/(100 - Desired Brix))*35.2739619 = Sugar in OZ

Starting Brix = 261.3*(1-(1/StartSG))
Desired Brix = 261.3*(1-(1/DesiredSG))

I just did this with my last kit. A WE Eclipse Lodi. Starting SG was 1.084. I added enough bump to 1.090..ish. With the sugar from the fruit it should help it finish closer to 14 instead of under 13. I like a little more kick. Nothing wrong with experimenting as long as you are prepared to ruin the kit if you deviate wildly. Basically someone has given you a recipe. You can stay close and experience their creation - maybe you can add a little salt and pepper - but don't say you love (or hated) someones recipe after you have substituted or removed half of the stuff they listed. That is what lugs of grapes are for.


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## joeswine

*Capitalization of wine*

Most straight up kits are and can be boosted to a higher abv,but you first have to know the rules and how to balance out a particular wine in order to make it your own and that comes with understanding the process ,simple syrup for example:

 MOST* MIST KITS* AND THE LIKE ARE AT *1.06 OR 1.08* AND CAN TAKE A BOOST TO* 1.010* WITHOUT A PROBLEM,BECAUSE OF THE ADDITION OF THE FPAC ,THE ADDITION OF THE ADDED ABV . REALLY DOESN'T EFFECT IT IN A NEGATIVE WAY ,BUT YIELDS A BETTER TASTING *WINE FINISH* TO THE MIX, RECENTLY MOST STRAIGHT WINE KITS LIKE* WINEXPERTS* ARE AT 1.08 TO 1.010,NO ADDED ABV.SHOULD BE REQUIRED ,RESULTING IN OR AROUND 12/13%ABV..THAT'S THE STANDARD IN THE US INDUSTRY.. SOMETIMES HIGHER IN FRANCE.

 BY OVER PRODUCING ACHOLO IN A WINE CAN AT THE END RENDER IT *HOT,AND THAT'S NOT A GOOD ATTRIBUTE TO HAVE ,BY DISSOLVING THE SUGAR AND WATER TOGETHER YOU HAVE CREATED A SOLUTION AND A MORE SOLVABLE MIXTURE TO THE WINE .*


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## joeswine

*Capitalization of wine*

*Most straight up kits are and can be boosted to a higher abv,but you first have to know the rulles and how to balance out a perticular wine in oreder to make it your own and that comes with understanding the process ,simple syurp for example:*

*Chaptalization* is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not intended to make the wine sweeter, but rather to provide more sugar for the yeast to ferment into alcohol.capitalization has generated controversy and discontent in the French wine industry due to advantages that the process is perceived to give producers in poor-climate areas. In response to violent demonstrations by protesters in 1907, the French government began regulating the amount of sugar that can be added to wine.
capitalization is sometimes referred to as *enrichment*, for example in the European Union wine regulations specifying the legality of the practice within EU.The legality of capitalization varies by country, region, and even wine type. In general, it is legal in regions that produce grapes with low sugar content. capitalization is prohibited in Argentina, Australia, Austria, California, Italy, and South Africa. Germany prohibits the practice for making Prädikatswein. It is generally permitted in regions where grapes tend to have low sugar content, including regions in France, Germany, and the United States.


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## turkeylipz

joeswine said:


> Most straight up kits are and can be boosted to a higher abv,but you first have to know the rules and how to balance out a particular wine in order to make it your own and that comes with understanding the process ,simple syrup for example:
> 
> MOST* MIST KITS* AND THE LIKE ARE AT *1.06 OR 1.08* AND CAN TAKE A BOOST TO* 1.010* WITHOUT A PROBLEM,BECAUSE OF THE ADDITION OF THE FPAC ,THE ADDITION OF THE ADDED ABV . REALLY DOESN'T EFFECT IT IN A NEGATIVE WAY ,BUT YIELDS A BETTER TASTING *WINE FINISH* TO THE MIX, RECENTLY MOST STRAIGHT WINE KITS LIKE* WINEXPERTS* ARE AT 1.08 TO 1.010,NO ADDED ABV.SHOULD BE REQUIRED ,RESULTING IN OR AROUND 12/13%ABV..THAT'S THE STANDARD IN THE US INDUSTRY.. SOMETIMES HIGHER IN FRANCE.
> 
> BY OVER PRODUCING ACHOLO IN A WINE CAN AT THE END RENDER IT *HOT,AND THAT'S NOT A GOOD ATTRIBUTE TO HAVE ,BY DISSOLVING THE SUGAR AND WATER TOGETHER YOU HAVE CREATED A SOLUTION AND A MORE SOLVABLE MIXTURE TO THE WINE .*



I believe you may have meant 1.10 instead of 1.01 but I agree on the simple syrup. A very important detail.

Although 12 - 13% may be a median abv in the US, I don't think I own too many cabs in that range. For my taste, they always seem to be better when they are a little bolder in all aspects. I feel that sometimes the kits, regardless of quality, do have one goal in mind and that is volume sales. They achieve that by making sure they have a product that finishes in the range that appeals to the largest audience in my opinion.

Here is a quick pick sample of some higher-end cabs (And Crianza) I snapped from the cellar for a ABV reference... at the end of the day...tweak a kit if you want but be prepared to get what you ask for. I say go for it and learn from it...


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## joeswine

*Correction taken*

YES ,THAT IS THE CORRECT SG,THANK YOU SOME TIMES I GET THINGS BACKWARDS...WITH MY FINGERS AND MIND  USUALLY WITH A HIGH ALCOHOL WINE YOU HAVE A BALANCE WITH THE ACIDITY ,THE TANNINS AND OAK COMBINATION PLAY A VERY BIG ROLL, USUALLY ONLY WITH BIG REDS.

 YOU CAN CHANGE ANY WINE AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN,BUT YOU NEED TO HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE RULES OF THE ROAD,,,,,,.THIS COMES FROM NOT BEING AFRAID TO LEARN AND TAKE A CHANCE,OR AS I PUT IT YOU NEED TO* THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...*


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## Jmbhall5

When in the process do you add the sugar?


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## Davolous

Generally you add sugar for alcohol content before you pitch the yeast. It's easier to figure out how much alcohol your end product has. Unless you are going for something like 20%+ then it can get more involved. I also add sugar at the end, after it's stabilized, for favor.

I have found that more Alcohol = the longer it takes for the wine to smooth out, and the more likely you are to hurt people... lol! I have seen several people misjudge the kick of a 15% bottle of wine.


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## wineforfun

Jmbhall5 said:


> When in the process do you add the sugar?



In the beginning.


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## Noontime

Davolous said:


> and the more likely you are to hurt people... lol! I have seen several people misjudge the kick of a 15% bottle of wine.


Ha Ha! That happened to me and my wife just the other day with a commercial white... we were well into a bottle of Coopers Art Pinot Grigio (on empty stomachs by the way) when we realized we had a buzz on. After a tipsy laugh about it we looked at the bottle and it was nearly 15% alcohol.


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## Noontime

The only thing I'd add is yeast has a hard time with high sugar (I believe it's the osmotic pressure), so you might want to make a yeast starter if you bump up the sugar so it has a better chance. And like Joeswine said...good wine is balanced, so bumping up the alcohol without the other "stuff" that makes a big wine can throw things out of whack.


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## Mazpaz

*Adding sugar*

I recently bottled a Chardonnay that I added auger too at the start of fermentation and it is absolutely delicious even at this early stage.

The kit was a premium Chardonnay which makes 23ltr - 30 bottles. Using a hydrometer I worked out that adding 5.5 cups of caster sugar raised the ag to 1.10. I ended up with a wine which is crystal clear and running at 14%.

Can't wait to see what it's like when it has aged for a year, provided I can keep my wife off it!!


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## joeswine

*In the mix*

In a small markets across the globe white wines alcohol contents are slowly creeping up ,that's a fact. From California to Spain wines are and in some cases have been in the 13 to 14% ranges for a long time ,winemakers such as Frances ford Coppola and others have whites in the 14% range.Although the alcohol content isn't for everyone it is there,there's no question, and in most big reds has been for a long time, all's you need to do is go to the local wine and spirit shop .I'm not saying that we or you should start raising up your abvs. but the fact remains .check these out>


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## sampvt

Raising the abv to a borderline vermouth status is an art that simple wine makers have never got on top of. Every time I add sugar and try to irk the abv, the end result is lacking in body which I feel is the primary for my taste buds. Kits are designed by people that know their onions, Adding RGJ, dried fruits or extra juice is one thing, but alas the simple inclusion of sugar is not that good an idea as whilst you get one thing, you will loose another. Fine wines with body, mouth and nose and things that tickle our pallets are designed to sit around the 12% mark. Venture outside that area and you better know what you are doing or you end up with a wishy washy mess.


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## joeswine

*in the mix*

UK,the intention is to first start with a good base and understand what's required to boost the achoo level in wine and yes it's not for everybody, nor should it be. When I was in Spain last year the two wineries I went into where excellent and the labels reflected 14%abv on. A white and red,not all of them but there premium ones.


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## sampvt

joeswine said:


> UK,the intention is to first start with a good base anb understand what's required to boost the acholo level in wine and yes it's not for everybody, nor bagginess. When I was in Spain last year the tw9 wineries I went into where excellent and the labels reflected 14%abv on. A white and red,not all of them but there premium ones.



My post was meant to infer that us simple wine makers are not that fully informed so we find it hard but big brewers have researched and tried and tested different methods. 

One thing I have found success with is setting the mix off fermenting and gradually adding the extra juice, fruit or additives, afterwards. This stops the extra flavour units escaping with the co2 when the initial fermentation goes into bonkers mode. Adding sugar at the start tends to crank up the yeast cell activity and all the nice esters vacate the premises into the air.


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## Jfulch

Noontime said:


> A good rule of thumb is 1 cup sugar raises 1gallon's s.g. by .020 (and 1# sugar = 2.36 cups). So you can see why PPBart said you have nothing to worry about...you need to add A LOT of sugar to significantly raise the SG. Make sure you take good notes as to what you add and the SG at the time, because you'll have to do some math to figure out what the final alcohol is when it's done.





> Make sure you take good notes as to what you add and the SG at the time, because you'll have to do some math to figure out what the final alcohol is when it's done.


Does this math just mean figuring out the alcohol% in between adding sugars, and then adding the %s at bottling? 
Ex: I have a strawberry country wine in the making... Original gravity (only from the berries themselves!) 1.006... Let that sit for a day and it dropped to 1.000 (.82%)
Then added sugar up to 1.076, now a couple weeks later it is 0.996. (10.87%) 
It would make sense to me to add them together for a total of 11.69%alcohol. 
Am I completely off? 
Thanks!!


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## sour_grapes

This is close to correct, and, in the present case, it will be very close to correct. The only correction is that the volume changes when you add the sugar, so the 0.82 ABV in your example will drop to a lower number when you add the sugar, because the sugar increases the volume.

You can get a better estimate using Fermcalc. In your example, adding enough sugar to raise the SG from 1.000 to 1.076 would increase the volume by 14%, to i.e., to 1.14 times your initial volume. Thus, your initial ABV would drop by 14%, in your case, from 0.82% to 0.705%. 

The difference between your calculation and my calculation is truly negligible in this case!


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## Jfulch

Thank you so much Paul!! Very helpful reply. I will check out Fermcalc as I get into more intricate recipes. This strawberry wine is my first! So I'll look at it and see what I can decipher! 

Thanks a million!


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## joeswine

*increasing the abv.*

As I stated in the beginning a good base is required if not the effort is useless,knowing how to in crease the wines structure and body comes with time but it's not rocket since either, it takes some reading and practice. It's also knowing the make up characteristics of your wines profile to move the taste along the way creating balance. If you start off wrong ,you stay wrong for the most part. But sometimes ,just sometimes you can make the proper adjustment's along the way and make it spot on.


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## hounddawg

I bump up my alcohol as well.
to keep it from tasting like jet fuel when I back sweeten with pure honey.
then after bottling wait 14 days to allow bottle shock to be over::







jdaniels9 said:


> Can I just add sugar to a wine kit and up the amount of alcohol in it?
> 
> How much sugar should I add? Do I have to add anything else to support the extra sugar? (more yeast or something)
> 
> Thanks


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## dcbrown73

I read in a book that you should use non-fermentable sugar when you back sweeten. I don't even know what that is. 

Joe's simple syrup is for back sweetening? Is that just standard sugar? 

This is like learning Perl back in the day. There are 50 ways to skin a cat and it can be difficult differentiating which is correct or if it doesn't really even matter.


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## jgmann67

dcbrown73 said:


> Joe's simple syrup is for back sweetening? Is that just standard sugar?



Yes - simple syrup is, as the name implies, simply sugar and water typically in a 2 to 1 ratio (i.e. 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water) brought to a boil. Let it cool and place in a container (like a mason jar) for use later.


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## cmason1957

dcbrown73 said:


> I read in a book that you should use non-fermentable sugar when you back sweeten. I don't even know what that is.
> 
> Joe's simple syrup is for back sweetening? Is that just standard sugar?
> 
> This is like learning Perl back in the day. There are 50 ways to skin a cat and it can be difficult differentiating which is correct or if it doesn't really even matter.



Much easier than Perl. No regular expressions. And I can forget the semi colons. 

As an aside, just pure sugar or honey works just fine for backsweetening.


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## Noontime

We once did an experiment taking a wine and splitting it 3 ways to back sweeten it with honey, sugar, and frozen Niagara grape concentrate. Unfortunately the cats knocked the bung out of the concentrate and had to dump it (fruit flies got in and ruined it). Of the other two, we liked the sugar better. More of an education of our own palates than anything else.


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## Tnuscan

Noontime said:


> We once did an experiment taking a wine and splitting it 3 ways to back sweeten it with honey, sugar, and frozen Niagara grape concentrate. Unfortunately the cats knocked the bung out of the concentrate and had to dump it (fruit flies got in and ruined it). Of the other two, we liked the sugar better. More of an education of our own palates than anything else.



Seems like there are always things around to screw up a experiment. I was thinking of a locked room, then I realized I'd probably loose the key.


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## hounddawg

TNUSCAN you could send me the key to your wine cellar, address, dogs names and when you will be gone,, TRUST ME,,, snicker,,,,::::::::::::::





Tnuscan said:


> Seems like there are always things around to screw up a experiment. I was thinking of a locked room, then I realized I'd probably loose the key.


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## Tnuscan

hounddawg said:


> TNUSCAN you could send me the key to your wine cellar, address, dogs names and when you will be gone,, TRUST ME,,, snicker,,,,::::::::::::::




Lol,
You would probably find me passed out on the floor in a locked wine room.


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## hounddawg

well I was drinking some 2014 elderberry, till I read your post, reminder to self never snort elderberry mead.... 
see you let me have a key an I could check on you,, like I said TRUST ME, LOL






Tnuscan said:


> Lol,
> You would probably find me passed out on the floor in a locked wine room.


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