ABV & Back Sweetening

[Dave_W]

If I back sweeten by making a simple syrup that’s added to the bulk wine, will it be enough water to affect the ABV enough to matter?

 

[Rocky]

If I back sweeten by making a simple syrup that’s added to the bulk wine, will it be enough water to affect the ABV enough to matter?

I seriously doubt it would make a discernible difference. For example, if you have a wine at 12% ABV, you would have about 15.4 ounces of alcohol in a gallon (128 ounces). If you add a half cup (4 ounces) of simple syrup, which would be a lot, you would still have the 15.4 ounces of alcohol in 132 ounces, and the ABV would be 11.7%.

 

[AFW]

My thought is once you add Potassium Sorbate to your wine the yeasts are dead then back sweeten by adding simple syrup won’t affect ABV. WARNING only add a little Simple Syrup at a time with a good stir let sit for a bit then taste. If you obtain your level of desired sweetness stop. If you over sweeten you can’t go back your stuck with it.

My :02

Edit to correct my mistake.

 

[Rocky]

My thought is once you add Potassium Sulfate to your wine the yeasts are dead then back sweeten by adding simple syrup won’t affect ABV. WARNING only add a little Simple Syrup at a time with a good stir let sit for a bit then taste. If you obtain your level of desired sweetness stop. If you over sweeten you can’t go back your stuck with it.

My :02

Did you mean to say Potassium Sorbate, not Potassium Sulfate? The Potassium Sorbate is normally added to wine before back sweetening to prevent re-fermentation.

 

[Dave_W]

My thought is once you add Potassium Sulfate to your wine the yeasts are dead then back sweeten by adding simple syrup won’t affect ABV. WARNING only add a little Simple Syrup at a time with a good stir let sit for a bit then taste. If you obtain your level of desired sweetness stop. If you over sweeten you can’t go back your stuck with it.

My :02

I understand about adding the stabilizer, I was more concerned with dilution by increasing the total volume when the water of the simple syrup is added.

 

[AFW]

Rocky my bad yes Potassium Sorbate.

 

[Rocky]

I understand about adding the stabilizer, I was more concerned with dilution by increasing the total volume when the water of the simple syrup is added.

I rarely use simple syrup but when I do I mix 2 parts sugar to one part water. The amount of water that ends up in the wine is negligible.

 

[Dave_W]

I rarely use simple syrup but when I do I mix 2 parts sugar to one part water. The amount of water that ends up in the wine is negligible.

Do you use straight dry sugar? I was thinking the syrup would mix in faster with less stirring and less oxygen exposure.

 

[Rocky]

Do you use straight dry sugar? I was thinking the syrup would mix in faster with less stirring and less oxygen exposure.

Dave, I usually do it on the range set at a very low temperature in order to fully dissolve the sugar. Yes, I just use plain sucrose. I guess if I wanted to more accurate, I could use fructose and glucose.

 

[DrGriz]

I generally add K Campden at the same time I am adding granulated sugar for back sweetening, and sorbate. I rather figure that the Campden will scavenge most if not all the oxygen I am introducing.

Is that what others think?

 

[winemaker81]

I generally add K Campden at the same time I am adding granulated sugar for back sweetening, and sorbate. I rather figure that the Campden will scavenge most if not all the oxygen I am introducing.

Is that what others think?

That's why I add K-meta at each racking.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I generally add K Campden at the same time I am adding granulated sugar for back sweetening, and sorbate. I rather figure that the Campden will scavenge most if not all the oxygen I am introducing.

Is that what others think?

It’s not just what others think, it’s the recommended practice. Always add Kmeta when adding potassium sorbate. The two work together.

 

[Dave_W]

That's why I add K-meta at each racking.

I don’t do that. Seems like I should start.

 

[winemaker81]

I don’t do that. Seems like I should start.

IME, wines made without sulfite have a much shorter shelf life. K-meta bonds with contaminants, including O2, rendering them harmless. This eliminates many off aroma and flavors, and extends shelf life.

 

[Rocky]

IME, wines made without sulfite have a much shorter shelf life. K-meta bonds with contaminants, including O2, rendering them harmless. This eliminates many off aroma and flavors, and extends shelf life.

Most commercial wines are more heavily sulfited than what we home wine makers do. I know that in Italy, my wife and I would routinely drink 2 or 3 bottles of the local wine daily, and we never experienced the ill effects from the sulfite as we would drinking that much Italian wine in the US. When we toured a small Brunello winery in Montalcino, I asked the vintner how much sulfite they used and he said it depended on whether the wine was to be consumed in Italy or exported. The wine exported would me more heavily sulfited because they had no information on how it would be stored and for how long. For example, even in a warehouse, the wine could be stored at floor lever or on top of racks perhaps 25 feet high where the temperature difference would be significant. I don't know if this is standard practice for all wineries, but I do know that buying the locally produced Italian wines gave us a better product.

 

[DrGriz]

Most commercial wines are more heavily sulfited than what we home wine makers do. I know that in Italy, my wife and I would routinely drink 2 or 3 bottles of the local wine daily, and we never experienced the ill effects from the sulfite as we would drinking that much Italian wine in the US. When we toured a small Brunello winery in Montalcino, I asked the vintner how much sulfite they used and he said it depended on whether the wine was to be consumed in Italy or exported. The wine exported would me more heavily sulfited because they had no information on how it would be stored and for how long. For example, even in a warehouse, the wine could be stored at floor lever or on top of racks perhaps 25 feet high where the temperature difference would be significant. I don't know if this is standard practice for all wineries, but I do know that buying the locally produced Italian wines gave us a better product.

It is likely that it's not sulfites at all that cause wine headaches. Rather it is a flavonoid (a good thing, but gives some people headaches) that red wines have and white wines have little or none.

https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/why-red-wine-causes-such-banging-headaches/#:~:text=Quercetin, a flavonoid in red,more frequently triggers head pain.

Not sure why it's different for you, though!

 

[Rocky]

It is likely that it's not sulfites at all that cause wine headaches. Rather it is a flavonoid (a good thing, but gives some people headaches) that red wines have and white wines have little or none.

https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/why-red-wine-causes-such-banging-headaches/#:~:text=Quercetin, a flavonoid in red,more frequently triggers head pain.

Thank you. Interesting article.

I would say that the vast majority of the wine we consumed in Italy was red.

 

[Dave_W]

I love this forum, I ask a basic question but get loads more info! I truly mean it, the free knowledge is excellent!