# Stronger wine from Kits



## mico1984 (Feb 4, 2009)

I was wondering what could I do to make wine from kits with a higher alcohol content. I was thinking adding extra sugar before starting fermentation. Is my assumption correct? what else could I do?


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## Wade E (Feb 4, 2009)

Buy the big kits like the RJS Cellar classic Winery Series. The starting SG's are 1.105 typically.


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## cpfan (Feb 4, 2009)

mico1984 said:


> I was wondering what could I do to make wine from kits with a higher alcohol content. I was thinking adding extra sugar before starting fermentation. Is my assumption correct? what else could I do?


It's no something that I like to recommend, but yes adding sugar to the primary fermenter will increase the alcohol level. You will need to be careful about how much you add, given the kit's starting sg, and the yeast involved.

Be prepared for a 'hot', unbalanced wine.

Is there a specific kit that we are talking about, because my generic answer above may not apply to every kit?

Steve


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## sdpeacock71 (Dec 3, 2012)

can u make a stronger wine by feeding it a little slower but use more sugar just not all at once i would think it would help not to smother the yeast till it can grow to handle the volume of sugar


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## Bartman (Dec 4, 2012)

No, it doesn't make a difference in the strength of the wine if you add all the sugar when you pitch the yeast or if you gradually add it over a few days' time. Within reason. If you are making a 6-gallon kit, adding 1-2 pounds of sugar will raise the alcohol level somewhat without noticeably affecting the taste. Particularly if you are making one of the Summer Breeze or Orchard Breezin' kits that have a low alcohol level to begin with, and have a sweetener pack to add at the end - those kits are best for adding sugar to raise the final alcohol level.

I wouldn't add sugar to a dry red wine kit, under any circumstances, as long as you want to drink it ultimately. 

P.S. On a totally unrelated point, using some punctuation would help me to understand your question/proposal better.


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## Tom_S (Dec 4, 2012)

But, if I was going for a high alcohol wine, I'd add sugar a little at a time. Like start out with an SG of 1.098, ferment that out dry, then add a bit more sugar to start a refermentation. I think the yeast will be happier this way and not make hot alcohols like they would if dumped into a high sugar environment which might stress them.


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## GaDawg (Jan 12, 2013)

With an Orchard Breezin type kit could one add vodka along with the f-pack?


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## deboard (Jan 12, 2013)

sdpeacock71 said:


> can u make a stronger wine by feeding it a little slower but use more sugar just not all at once i would think it would help not to smother the yeast till it can grow to handle the volume of sugar



Yeast love sugar, adding it gradually won't get you higher alcohol any more than adding it all at once. Alcohol, however, is lethal to yeast once it gets to a high enough concentration. As the yeast eat the sugar and convert it to alcohol, their environment becomes more and more toxic to them. So if your yeast can tolerate 14% alcohol, but you put in enough sugar to make 18% alcohol, the yeast will not get you there and your wine will have residual sugar. Even worse, a wild strain might take over and finish it off, likely making something awful.


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## cpfan (Jan 12, 2013)

GaDawg said:


> With an Orchard Breezin type kit could one add vodka along with the f-pack?


 
Yes you can.



deboard said:


> Yeast love sugar, adding it gradually won't get you higher alcohol any more than adding it all at once. Alcohol, however, is lethal to yeast once it gets to a high enough concentration. As the yeast eat the sugar and convert it to alcohol, their environment becomes more and more toxic to them. So if your yeast can tolerate 14% alcohol, but you put in enough sugar to make 18% alcohol, the yeast will not get you there and your wine will have residual sugar. Even worse, a wild strain might take over and finish it off, likely making something awful.


 
Note the date on the post that you are replying to....2009.

Steve


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## GaDawg (Jan 13, 2013)

Note the date on the post that you are replying to....2009.

Steve
***********************
Sorry :-{


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## deboard (Jan 13, 2013)

cpfan said:


> Yes you can.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Someone resurrected it and I replied to someone posting in Dec 2012. Still a little old, but not 2009.


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## cpfan (Jan 13, 2013)

deboard said:


> Someone resurrected it and I replied to someone posting in Dec 2012. Still a little old, but not 2009.


Sorry about that, For some reason I thought that you had replied to one of the 2009 posts.

Steve


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## Lsport (Aug 27, 2014)

I Know this is old but I am making a winexpert Island mist green apple Riesling and I love the wine but only has 6.5% alcohol and want to make it stronger. Can someone tell me how I can do that?


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## Dale1978 (Aug 27, 2014)

adding 5lb of sugar will put you at 10% ABV.,If everything is mixed already, I usually take the must warm it enough to melt the sugar and add to the mix. If you have not mixed everything together yet, you can warm the water that you will be using to melt the sugar.


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## richmke (Aug 27, 2014)

For the IM Green Apple, I dissolved 3# of sugar in the water before adding to the primary (to make 6 gallons). I also added 1/2 of the F-Pack (at primary, and the other half when called for in the instructions). It still ended up a little sweet for my taste, but my wife and her friends love it.


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## Lsport (Aug 27, 2014)

*How to make wine kit alcohol content stronger*

Hello 
I was wondering if there is a way to make the winexpert Green Apple Riesling kit stronger? The alcohol content in the kit is only 6.5%. I like the wine but it's not very strong. Please let me know. 

Thanks


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## littlefootwines (Aug 27, 2014)

Add 4lbs of sugar thats what i do


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## Chilled (Aug 27, 2014)

I add about 3-1/2 pounds of sugar as simple syrup to the primary. I like the Island mist kits much better this way. You might try 3, 3-1/2 and 4 pounds added to decide your personal preference.

I think they are best if aged 6 to 10 months. Don't give up on them too early.

Good Luck
Dave


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## GaDawg (Aug 27, 2014)

Funny thing happened. I made 2 Orchard Breezin kits. The 1st one I added 4lbs of sugar as a simple syrup the 2nd I added 5 lbs. The 4 lbs kit seemed sweeter than the 5 lbs kit because of the extra ABV.


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