# How much sugar for 1 gallon



## TorontoPaul

How much sugar do you normally use for 1 gallon. I am not sure I used enough. I want the most alcohol possible. I know you are supposed to use the hydrometer but what range of sugar should be in a gallon in cups.




Currentlt I have a gallon of juice fermenting in a jug with 3 cups of sugar, ec-1118 yeast.

I used welchs pure grape juice.
I hydrated about 1/3 of a teaspoon of yeast with 50ml of water at 105*F.

Then added another 1/3 teaspoon of yeast nonhydrated.

I also have 3 plastic 1.64L bottles with juice fermenting with the same amount of yeast but with only 1 and 1/2 cups sugar in each.

2 bottle is apple berry pomegrante
1 bottle is grape berry pomegrante


I have balloons as a seal with holes in it.


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## dorfie

In reality the amount of alcohol that is possible is determined by a number of things, mainly the type of yeast you used, nutrient availability, and temperature. without knowing the yeast type we can't tell how high the yeast can ferment to. 
So without knowing the yeast and the amount of fruit present (to see how much sugar the fruit has to start with) i can't truly tell how much you should add. if you add too much your yeast will stress and die off, or produce H2S which is a nasty thing to have to remove. I mean you will get alcohol, but you might end up with a super sweet wine, or something that has an issue. 
That being said, i normally advise away from trying to make "rocket fuel" because it normally doesn't end up tasting like anything that you want to drink unless you use a lot of fruit, and a fruit that can handle the high alcohol, and if you know what you are doing. if i may, what are you trying to make?


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## TorontoPaul

Ec-1118

How much sugar do i need?

I seen somewhere its 2 pounds of sugar for a gallon but i only used 2 cups.


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## TorontoPaul

I prefer sweet wine like port.

So I am trying to make something similar without addimg the brandy.


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## PierreR

It will depend on the fruit you use, and the specific gravity of the fruit/water/juice mix. There are too many variables to give you a general range.


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## TorontoPaul

I dont know yhe starting SG. I need a ball park range. Its easy to say a spoon of sugar is not enough and 10 pounds is too much. 

I need to know if i need twp cups or two pounds of sugar.

I am using welchs grape juice

Currentlt I have a gallon of juice fermenting in a jug with 3 cups of sugar, ec-1118 yeast.

I used welchs pure grape juice.
I hydrated about 1/3 of a teaspoon of yeast with 50ml of water at 105*F.

Then added another 1/3 teaspoon of yeast nonhydrated.

I also have 3 plastic 1.64L bottles with juice fermenting with the same amount of yeast but with only 1 and 1/2 cups sugar in each.

2 bottle is apple berry pomegrante
1 bottle is grape berry pomegrante


I have balloons as a seal with holes in it.


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## dorfie

ok well i would guess that the welches grape juice is around 1.035 for s.g. and EC-1118 can reach an 18% alcohol before reaching it's limit. 
some math now. each lb of sugar equals around 2 cups plus 2 TB sugar. each lb sugar raises the s.g. by .045 if you for example wanted to reach 15% which is around 1.115 you would need to take .115-.40 all divided by .45 to find pounds sugar then multiply that by 2 so that's around 3 1/2 cups sugar. if you want a different level just find the gravity level that corresponds with your percent and work backwards like above.


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## TorontoPaul

So it is roughly almost 2 pounds. I used 3 cups in the gallon, so I am not too far off. I have been fermenting for 14 days and its at about 1.1 SG. Should i add more or just let it finish the way it is?

Next batch I will use the hydrometer and probably add about 4 cups of sugar.


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## NorCal

I did the same and you can get the alcohol up there. It ended up tasting like a cheap mixed drink and I tossed it. You might have to play with back sweetening to cover the alcohol.


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## TorontoPaul

If this works out well. Im going try to figure out how to make jewish wine and port.


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## BernardSmith

Hi TorontoPaul, One pound of sugar dissolved in water to make a US gallon results in a gravity of about 1.040. You want to make a wine with a starting gravity of about 1.090. Even if the yeast CAN handle more sugar than that unless you really know what you are doing you will be making "firewater" and not anything pleasant to drink. If you know the gravity of the juice from the fruit then you know how much sugar you need to add (I have no idea what a "cup" is in lbs or kilos but I am sure you can look that up in Google). Good luck!


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## GreginND

Paul, please see my response in your other post about feeding sugar slowly to end up with a port-like higher alcohol sweet wine.


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## TorontoPaul

NorCal said:


> I did the same and you can get the alcohol up there. It ended up tasting like a cheap mixed drink and I tossed it. You might have to play with back sweetening to cover the alcohol.



What do you mean?

You tried Welchs?

Why would it not taste like store bought?


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## TorontoPaul

BernardSmith said:


> Hi TorontoPaul, One pound of sugar dissolved in water to make a US gallon results in a gravity of about 1.040. You want to make a wine with a starting gravity of about 1.090. Even if the yeast CAN handle more sugar than that unless you really know what you are doing you will be making "firewater" and not anything pleasant to drink. If you know the gravity of the juice from the fruit then you know how much sugar you need to add (I have no idea what a "cup" is in lbs or kilos but I am sure you can look that up in Google). Good luck!



I have not used water. I used 100% grape juice.


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## TorontoPaul

GreginND said:


> Paul, please see my response in your other post about feeding sugar slowly to end up with a port-like higher alcohol sweet wine.



I read it thank you.


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## wineforfun

TorontoPaul said:


> What do you mean?
> 
> You tried Welchs?
> 
> Why would it not taste like store bought?



Paul,
Bernard is just giving you an instance of what 1lb. of sugar will do, not exactly what it is doing in your case.

Your question of "why would it not taste like store bought?" is because you are just "winging it" with so many things.
To taste like store bought you need to have 12-13% ABV, not the jet fuel you are after. You also have to have some sort of balance with acid.

Also, you said you used pure Welchs juice. I assume you mean the juice you buy premixed in a container. If so, and you end up running it to say 16-18% ABV it is not going to have hardly any flavor at all because you have just used up every drop of sugar/flavor in it. You will definitely have to backsweeten it to get some flavor back into it.


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## menerdari

I recently made several batches of Wine from grape juice, one was welches farmers pick concord. it was 16 brix right out of the bottle, that equals 1.058 SG.
I added enough sugar to bring it to 20 brix 1.084 
It finished on the dry side at 0.996, I back sweetened with 1/4 cup sugar and it came out quite tasty at just over 11% ABV
I am afraid if you push welches juice too high you will end up with an undrinkable swill.


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## TorontoPaul

Okay so I just checked my wine must again.

1. 1 gallon of grape
SG 1.02
Added half cup sugar
SG 1.03

2. 1.36L of half grape half Pom/berry
SG 1.01
Added half cup sugar
SG 1.02

3. 1.89L of 3/4 apple 1/4 pom berry
SG 1.008-ish
Added half cup sugar
SG 1.012

4. 1.36L of 1/2 apple 1/2 pom berry
SG 1.002
Added 1/2 cup of sugar
SG 1.01

I tasted the wine it tastes like sour wine. Smells like a mix between wine and vinegar.

The first gallon jug I put the sugar in too fast and it shot foam out of the top. I hope the wine is still okay.


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## TorontoPaul

wineforfun said:


> Paul,
> Bernard is just giving you an instance of what 1lb. of sugar will do, not exactly what it is doing in your case.
> 
> Your question of "why would it not taste like store bought?" is because you are just "winging it" with so many things.
> To taste like store bought you need to have 12-13% ABV, not the jet fuel you are after. You also have to have some sort of balance with acid.
> 
> Also, you said you used pure Welchs juice. I assume you mean the juice you buy premixed in a container. If so, and you end up running it to say 16-18% ABV it is not going to have hardly any flavor at all because you have just used up every drop of sugar/flavor in it. You will definitely have to backsweeten it to get some flavor back into it.



What do you mean jet fuel? According to you guys its not much sugar. I doubt I will even have 10% abv. I tasted the wine and I barely taste any alcohol in it.

How do I balance or measure the acid?

Welchs juice is pure juice.


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## PierreR

TorontoPaul said:


> Okay so I just checked my wine must again.
> 
> 1. 1 gallon of grape
> SG 1.02
> Added half cup sugar
> SG 1.03
> 
> 2. 1.36L of half grape half Pom/berry
> SG 1.01
> Added half cup sugar
> SG 1.02
> 
> 3. 1.89L of 3/4 apple 1/4 pom berry
> SG 1.008-ish
> Added half cup sugar
> SG 1.012
> 
> 4. 1.36L of 1/2 apple 1/2 pom berry
> SG 1.002
> Added 1/2 cup of sugar
> SG 1.01
> 
> I tasted the wine it tastes like sour wine. Smells like a mix between wine and vinegar.
> 
> The first gallon jug I put the sugar in too fast and it shot foam out of the top. I hope the wine is still okay.




Hi, did you sterilize all your equipment? Did you do all the fermenting in these small bottles or did you use a primary? Why not use air locks? They are cheap! I see from your picture, that some of the must ran down the side of your bottles? Did you clean and re sterilize them? Did you sulfite your must to kill any nasties before you added yeast? Every time you add something to your must (sugar?) you introduce air/contaminants. Any of them can spoil your wine. How long have they been fermenting? It is possible that you are smelling normal fermentation, and your wine is just too young, and still actively fermenting.

Your methods make it nearly impossible for anyone to give you sound advice. Without better note keeping and procedures, and attention to cleanliness, I'm thinking it will be difficult to get anything but poor tasting wine.


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## TorontoPaul

PierreR said:


> Hi, did you sterilize all your equipment? Did you do all the fermenting in these small bottles or did you use a primary? Why not use air locks? They are cheap! I see from your picture, that some of the must ran down the side of your bottles? Did you clean and re sterilize them? Did you sulfite your must to kill any nasties before you added yeast? Every time you add something to your must (sugar?) you introduce air/contaminants. Any of them can spoil your wine. How long have they been fermenting? It is possible that you are smelling normal fermentation, and your wine is just too young, and still actively fermenting.
> 
> Your methods make it nearly impossible for anyone to give you sound advice. Without better note keeping and procedures, and attention to cleanliness, I'm thinking it will be difficult to get anything but poor tasting wine.



Sterilize them with what?

What kind of sulfite?

If i need more chemicals than why bother making wine if im going to spend so much in equipment. I was told balloons are fine. I dont have a wine store on every corner where i live and im not sure if they can fit all different sizes. I will get some when i have money.

If im doing everything wrong then give me a step by step guide for doing that is easy to understand.


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## PierreR

http://mpesgens.home.xs4all.nl/thwp/download/thwb.pdf


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## wineforfun

TorontoPaul said:


> What do you mean jet fuel? According to you guys its not much sugar. I doubt I will even have 10% abv. I tasted the wine and I barely taste any alcohol in it.
> 
> How do I balance or measure the acid?
> 
> Welchs juice is pure juice.



*What do you mean jet fuel? *
You made the comment early on you wanted "the most alcohol possible", that is what I was referring to, jet fuel wise.

*According to you guys its not much sugar. I doubt I will even have 10% abv.*
Way too hard to tell without knowing what your hydrometer readings were to begin with and end with. It's nothing more than an educated guess.

*How do I balance or measure the acid?*
You need an acid tester to measure for acid.

*Welchs juice is pure juice.*
Welchs juice is not pure juice, if you are talking about Welchs in the 64oz./96oz. containers bought in the store. Those have been reconstituted with water.
The only way to get "pure" Welchs juice would be to buy it in the 12oz. concentrated tubes.



Also, read Pierre's link above, it will be very useful information for you.


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## BernardSmith

TorontoPaul, two quick comments - I have never used Welchs' products so this is just a thought -but the specific gravity figures you are getting from the juice seem off. I would expect fruit juices to all be around 1.050 (wine grapes are grown so that they have a far higher sugar content ) but the commercial juices you refer to ought - I think - to have far more sugar in them than your reading suggests - I could be wrong... 
The other thing is that once you start fermenting the liquid will contain carbon dioxide gas (this is because yeast produces that gas as a byproduct of fermentation. That gas is dissolved in the liquid, but if you add any kinds of particles (sugar , for example) or powder to the fermenting wine that gas will collect at the surface of those particles and will have enough energy to create a volcano of liquid. Anything you add to your carboys really needs to be dissolved in water (or some other liquid) because that volcano can really blow (there are famous Youtube videos of kids putting menthos mints into bottles of coke... You are doing exactly the same thing when you add sugar in solid form to your fermenting wine... ).


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## TorontoPaul

Its been 16 days.

The bottles are ranging between 1.01 to 1.035 SG

Im getting impatient now.

What if i put the potassoum sorbate in now?

I dont want it to be too strong.


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## PierreR

Im not sure what advice to give you. In your first post in this thread, you said you want as much alcohol as possible, now you say you dont want it to strong.

I have no idea what your ABV is, as you have no idea what your starting SG was. So I/we have no idea if you need to let it finish fermenting (my recommendation) or if you can try to stop the fermentation.

16 days and you are impatient? Wine making isnt about how fast you can finish, but the quality of your end product. Some kits can be finished in 4 weeks, some others in 6 weeks. Some of us let our wine sit in bulk for a year, two or more for some wines.

You also mention, you dont want to spend more money... We are not talking hundreds of dollars. An air lock is like $3.00 a piece, campden tablets can be had for under $5.00, other items for similar cost. You say there arent wine supply stores on every corner, maybe not, but you are in toronto, there are a lot of shops. If travel is an issue, they mail order everything.

I advise against adding the sorbate. I advise you let it ferment out to finish. As you took no steps to sterilize anything, and are continually exposing the wine to air, and other contaminants (sugar additions?) I advise you to take this batch as a learning experience. Slow down on the next batch, do it by the book (I provided you a step by step) Stearilize, measure, take notes, allow the wine the time to do its thing, sit back, read and enjoy the process. We all wanted to rush at first, hell I started when I was 17 as a cheap source of alcohol. I quickly learned that it tasted like crap if I didn't do it right, clean, and with patience.

I'm not trying to discourage you by any means, I want you to succeed, and have fun doing it. Wisdom would suggest, if you ask for help, and you are given sound guidance, if you follow that advice, you success rate increases considerably. If you continue to rush, not measure, not clean, make adjustments without measuring and taking notes, you are unlikely to enjoy your finished product. 
There was another user, AspiringDakini, that seemed to have similar issues, maybe look up those threads, and read the advice given.


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## TorontoPaul

I appreciate the help. What would happen if i add the sorbate early?

Well i dont want it to taste bad and you said if I make it too strong it will taste bad. I thought I read somewhete about adding sorbate early to make it sweet.

I also bought brandy to make some port and i think im supposed to add it to the must before SG hits below 1.

Why do I need camden tablets. What else do I need besides potassium sorbate?


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## PierreR

So your back to wanting it strong? LET IT FINISH fermenting, measure the SG, or buy a cheap alcohol measuring device, know what you have before you try to change it. If you want a strong port type wine, why add the brandy? Drink the brandy, or buy a port wine. Once you understand how to make a typical wine, then you can step up to making a port. Little steps. That what I would do anyway.

Campden tablets is your means of sterilizing your must before you add yeast, and your insurance (sterilizing) each time you rack your wine. YOU NEED TO DO THIS!

You need airlocks. You need to sterilize EVERYTHING that touches your wine. You NEED patience. Anything else is extra, to increase your quality... Acid blend, grape tannin, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, finings... There are more should or could haves, but wine has been made for centuries with grapes and time. Nothing else. We live in a world where we understand how to make things better, and more consistently/scientifically by measuring, and balancing accordingly.

Here is your homework. Read the book I linked for you. Stop asking questions, and read, understand the whats and whys, then if you need clarification, ask. Many people want to help. Hell there are guys here that make me look like a bumbling idiot! But I am reading, learning, buying books, and asking when I am stumped, or think I have a solution, and am wondering if someone else has had better luck.

If you add brandy, you increase the alcohol. Too high the yeast dies.

Im going to bed. If it sounds like im rambling, I'm tired. I apologize if I sound harsh.


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## TorontoPaul

Ive started reading the book last night to the part about acid. It seems like I ask questions and I just get criticism.

I appreciate every bit of help I can get. 

I double racked the wine last night and used coffee filters. It took 2 hours for only 2 gallons. I just checked the wine again today and it has gunk at bottom again. It looks like paint on the bottom.

It still smells like vinegar to me and that worries me. It has smelled like that since the first week.


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## PierreR

Nobody means to criticize. Just tring to point you in the right direction. Curious why you racked again. You exposed your wine to 2 hours of airborn particles, and who knows what on the coffee filters... Did you use campden tablets this time? I'm guessing it has or is in the process of becoming a sour container of vinager. 

In your reading so far, have you crossed any part of the publication that made you think "I didn't do that" or "I didnt add that"? If so, it is these steps you need to not miss on your next go around.

If you get to a brew supply store, pick up a 1 gallon jug, a bung, airlock, campden tablets. Start fresh, and resist the urge to open the container to smell or taste. Take notes, ask here if your not sure BEFORE you do something to your wine. You will do fine.


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## sour_grapes

If you do decide to start over, here is a thread describing a way to make a wine meeting your description of what you want: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36379


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## TorontoPaul

PierreR said:


> Nobody means to criticize. Just tring to point you in the right direction. Curious why you racked again. You exposed your wine to 2 hours of airborn particles, and who knows what on the coffee filters... Did you use campden tablets this time? I'm guessing it has or is in the process of becoming a sour container of vinager.
> 
> In your reading so far, have you crossed any part of the publication that made you think "I didn't do that" or "I didnt add that"? If so, it is these steps you need to not miss on your next go around.
> 
> If you get to a brew supply store, pick up a 1 gallon jug, a bung, airlock, campden tablets. Start fresh, and resist the urge to open the container to smell or taste. Take notes, ask here if your not sure BEFORE you do something to your wine. You will do fine.


How else am i supposed to rack without taking it from the bottles?

Why would it turn into vinegar?

I dont have campden tablets.

This is my first time racking it.


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## GreginND

Paul,

I suspect people are showing a bit of frustration because you are blazing ahead full speed without really waiting to learn how to do this. And you seem very impatient with us. It's hard to do this on a written forum and would be a lot easier in person. So please bear with us.

I think you are on the right track now to read as much as you can about the process. Actually, winemaking is quite simple and I think your wine may actually be just fine. It should not be turning to vinegar already.

I think with just a few adjustments, measurements and understanding of what additives are necessary and their function, you will be able to figure this out and do it well.

Let me explain the simplest way of making wine and then try to clarify a few points for you about additives and what they do or don't do to make it better.

-------------------
Fruit juice (or fruit pulp and water) with the right sugar will turn into wine with the action of wine yeast.

Wine grapes will produce sugar levels that will make a wine ranging from 11-15% alcohol, give or take. A hydrometer is your friend because it lets you measure the sugar content at the beginning and at the end so you know about how much alcohol will be produced.

A starting gravity of 1.090 will produce an alcohol level of about 12.5% if all of the sugar is fermented. You can look up charts or check your hydrometer "potential alcohol" numbers to see that. There are also formulas to calculate alcohol content based on your starting and ending gravity readings.

The simplest wines from grapes:

Red grapes - crush, ferment with skins until dry (the sugar is gone), press the wine, let it sit and clarify racking every couple months or so until the wine is clear. Bottle and enjoy.

White wines - crush, press the fresh juice away from the skins, ferment until dry. Rack every couple months until clear, bottle and enjoy.

Fruit juices/fruit pulp - make like above but add sugar to get to your starting level you desire (e.g. 1.090). Ferment as above either the juice or with the pulp.

--------------------

Now - a few things to know about wine that can help you make better wine. 

--During active fermentation the CO2 being produced protects it. So you don't need to worry about air too much.

--After fermentation is done and the wine is no longer bubbling, air is the number one thing that can ruin it. It will oxidize. So you need to keep it in jugs with as little air space as possible and and airlock. Avoid opening too often, though you don't have to be too anal about that.

--No need to "filter" young cloudy wine through coffee filters or anything else. It is futile. It clogs and takes a lot of time and air exposure. The best way to clear it is to let time do the job. Rack the cleanest wine off of the sediments by siphoning into a clean bottle. Make sure it is full to the top (no air space) so put it into progressively smaller containers or use another wine to add to it to top it up after racking.

------------------

Additives - the two most important for you are Potassium Metabisulfite (also known as Campden tablets) and potassium sorbate. Here's some information about what they do and how to use them:

Potassium Metabisulfite - a powdered (or tablet) form of a chemical that will produce sulfur dioxide (SO2) in your wine. This has two main purposes - it helps protect the wine from spoilage bacteria (acetobacter that produces vinegar, wild weak yeasts that could impart off flavors, micoderma infections, etc). It also helps to protect it some from oxidizing. 

Often a dose is added before fermentation to grapes that come from the field to kill molds, bacteria and wild yeasts. This is allowed to rest for 24 hours before yeast is added to start fermentation. Most wine yeasts are stronger and more tolerant of SO2 than wild yeasts.

Right after the vigorous fermentation is done and you rack it for the first time into a secondary container don't add sulfites. Let every last trace of fermentation stop. I would let it go a couple weeks to a month. On the next racking - add a dose of sulfites. I add a dose on every other racking after that and once right before bottling. Now, if you step up your equipment and techniques you can get some things to measure the SO2 so you know more precisely whether or not you really need to add more. But I find without it the schedule of every other racking adding a dose (0.4 g per gallon or 1 campden tablet per gallon) works well. This will keep your wine from spoiling as it is aging and clarifying.

Potassium Sorbate - this is a chemical that prevents yeast from reproducing. It does NOT kill the yeast. So, adding it early when there is a lot of active yeast population doesn't do anything. It will not stop them from continuing to ferment. You only need to add sorbate if you will finish your wine with some sugar left. The best way to do this is to make you wine as above fermenting it dry until all the sugar is gone. Let it age, clarify and do your rackings until it is very clear. When you are a few weeks before you want to bottle it, add the sorbate, a dose of sulfite and sugar to your taste. I like to wait a few weeks before bottling after sweetening it up to make sure it doesn't start to ferment again. Sometimes sorbate can go bad. Always use sorbate that is no more than 1 year old.

----------------

There are lots of other things one can do along the way as far as additives to help fermentation, optimize color, degrade pectins, etc. I would not worry about learning those yet. You can step up as you get more confident with the process and have a few successful batches under your belt.

----------------

Also you comment that the wine smells like "vinegar". It probably smells like young wine at this point. It should not have oxidized to vinegar yet. Young and fermenting wine can have all kinds of strange smells that usually go away after it has had time to sit and clarify. 

---------------

Lastly, have patience. I know it's hard. But the more patient you can be with your wine (and with us) the better. Feel free to ask questions if something doesn't make sense. But don't be impatient. We really are trying to help. There is a lot to learn and it can take time to learn it. Start slow and get some experience. It will help.


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## TorontoPaul

Thank you gregin. 

So its not too late to throw a campden tablet in the wine?

I was confused about how to use it i thought it was just for cleaning and rinsing. 

So I just drop a csmpden tablet in the wine and let it dissolve?

Is there anything else i need to buy?

I will get airlocks but i dont know if they will fit sny of my containers or how to size them.


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## PierreR

TorontoPaul said:


> Thank you gregin.
> 
> So its not too late to throw a campden tablet in the wine?
> 
> I was confused about how to use it i thought it was just for cleaning and rinsing.
> 
> So I just drop a csmpden tablet in the wine and let it dissolve?
> 
> Is there anything else i need to buy?
> 
> I will get airlocks but i dont know if they will fit sny of my containers or how to size them.



For the airlock, they go into rubber bungs, They are a tapered rubber plug, with a hole for the airlock. Simply measure the opening of the bottle, tell the clerk the dimension, and they should be able to give you the size you need.

Crush the campden tablet between 2 spoons, into a powder. Disolve in a 1/4 cup of water to avoid a foaming incident. Glad your keeping at it!


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## menerdari

PierreR said:


> Crush the campden tablet between 2 spoons, into a powder. Disolve in a 1/4 cup of water to avoid a foaming incident. Glad your keeping at it!



I find it easier to crush the tablet in the water, it gets soft pretty quickly in the water and breaks up easily.


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## PierreR

menerdari said:


> I find it easier to crush the tablet in the water, it gets soft pretty quickly in the water and breaks up easily.


See? This is why I like this site, always something new to learn!

@GreginND Great post!


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## GreginND

TorontoPaul said:


> Thank you gregin.
> 
> So its not too late to throw a campden tablet in the wine?
> 
> I was confused about how to use it i thought it was just for cleaning and rinsing.
> 
> So I just drop a csmpden tablet in the wine and let it dissolve?
> 
> Is there anything else i need to buy?
> 
> I will get airlocks but i dont know if they will fit sny of my containers or how to size them.



Others have commented on how to best add campden tablets. I use the powder myself and weigh it out using a gram scale. It is best to dissolve it in a little water to make the incorporation into the wine easier. Same with the sorbate when you add that.

I didn't mention the a solution of sulfites or sulfites with some citric acid to activate the SO2 is often used as a sanitizing solution. You should get into the habit of sanitizing all of your equipment before it touches your wine. You will hear all kinds of opinions about this. From my experience if you keep everything very clean and dry, and you are properly protecting your wine with sulfites along the way, it will not be spoiled if you didn't sanitize a clean spoon before you stirred your wine.


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## TorontoPaul

Hey guys.

Its day 21. 

I just measured the batches and the SG has not changed. Most of them are at 1.02 and the big one is still at 1.03.

Im not sure if they are stuck or what is happening.

I set a batch a side to make port and i added brandy to it. It has an SG of 1.01 and it tastes good. 

The smell has gone away from the wine musts which i guess is a good sign.

Is it stuck or just taking a while. Keep in mind the temperature has dropped here the last few days from 15*C to 9*c in the day (outside)


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## GreginND

TorontoPaul said:


> Hey guys.
> 
> 
> Is it stuck or just taking a while. Keep in mind the temperature has dropped here the last few days from 15*C to 9*c in the day (outside)



It is just not possible to determine that without knowing what the starting sugar level was. Adding brandy undoubtedly raised the alcohol and would likely prevent any further fermentation. So I would say it is likely done.


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## TorontoPaul

The port seems a bit thin and light. Maybe I need to blend with some plain grape juice for body


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## TorontoPaul

Hey all,

The wine turned out great. It never hit below 1.0 I think because it was too much sugar at one time. Most of them stopped at 1.02.

The plain grape juice tasted very sweet and a bit cherry like.

The batch with wildberries and pomegranate tastes better. 

Oh and the batches with apple juice turned out badly. I will probably toss it.
It tastes very sour.

The batch of berry pomegranate that I added brandy to turned out amazing. Best port I ever had.

Im going to start another batch with just wildberries and pomegranate. Im going to wait until i get the campden tablets.


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## heatherd

Paul,

Glad your wines turned out well! Maybe the apple just needs time?

Camden tablets are mandatory. Sorbate is needed if you plan to back-sweeten. You also need a cleaner that is specific to wine, like OneStep, and sanitizer, like StarSan.

Knowing that you're making more, I would suggest that you get a few pieces of equipment like a food grade primary fermenter, hydrometer, and carboys with airlocks.

The thing I use the most is a notebook. I record all the steps I take in making wine, so that I can repeat the good and avoid the bad, and improve my wine.

Best of luck!


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## wineforfun

heatherd said:


> The thing I use the most is a notebook. I record all the steps I take in making wine, so that I can repeat the good and avoid the bad, and improve my wine.



Amen to that.


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## yanks4carolyn

TorontoPaul, I feel your pain! My first experience with wine wouldn't have got a nat drunk. I thought the recipe was crazy for asking for so much sugar. Surely I knew more than the ones that had made it, I obnoxiously thought. Second time around, I was armed with additives, hydrometer, air locks...the whole shebang. Now...I'm making really good wine. I didn't want a cheap drunk but some good wine. What you started out with was jailhouse hooch. A cheap, bad drunk with the porcelain god invited to your party. By the end of the thread you have learned a lot and that's what's so good about coming here. Occasionally, people will talk over your head and seem rude but they are a good bunch of Winos that know a lot! My Mom use to make Concord grape wine with a balloon attached and kept it in her closet. I don't know how much sugar she used, I only know it was sweeet and strong. She poured straight from the primary. I'd rather not duplicate that. Hooch is made daily in jail and prison. The prisoners save their sugar packets and bread (for the yeast) and their fruit. Eventually they have a buzz going on. Keep on trying with this hobby. You will not be disappointed in your small investment and time. Put a lid on that Apple wine and forget about it. In a few months you may have a pleasant surprise. Keep notes!


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