Back sweetening with concentrate?

[Chuck E]

Has anybody back sweetened a grape wine with grape concentrate? I'm talking about the grape concentrate you get in a kit.

Chuck

 

[winemaker81]

I have not, but it should work fine. The only issue is the wine will need to clear again, as the concentrate (probably any kind of concentrate) has solids in it.

 

[VinesnBines]

I backsweeten cider with apple juice concentrate. It settles pretty fast. I'm interested to know how that works for you.

 

[JeremyK]

I'm pretty sure that a Diablo Rojo kit that I made had a small amount of wine juice that was added at the end of fermentation to soften/balance the wine (i.e. table wine). Typically you'll have to use a dose of potassium sorbate in addition to K-meta and only after the wine has completely cleared. There are also some fining additions (Chitosan and Kieselsol) used in those kits which are added at about the same time as the "reserve" (aka juice). That kit came out quite well actually with no obvious effects on clarity of the wine. I had a similar experience with a Gewürztraminer kit, which had a much larger amount of juice added for back sweetening. Finished perfectly clear.

To get back to your original question. Yes. I've made wine from Concord grapes and back sweetened using store bought concentrate. Grape concentrate in a kit would work the same.

 

[winemaker81]

I'm pretty sure that a Diablo Rojo kit that I made had a small amount of wine juice that was added at the end of fermentation to soften/balance the wine (i.e. table wine). Typically you'll have to use a dose of potassium sorbate in addition to K-meta and only after the wine has completely cleared. There are also some fining additions (Chitosan and Kieselsol) used in those kits which are added at about the same time as the "reserve" (aka juice). That kit came out quite well actually with no obvious effects on clarity of the wine. I had a similar experience with a Gewürztraminer kit, which had a much larger amount of juice added for back sweetening. Finished perfectly clear.

Yup. F-pack that are added prior to fining may have solids in them, which the fining agents will precipitate out. F-packs added after fining don't appear to have any solids, as the wines remain clear. I assume these F-packs are made in a fashion so any solids that may precipitate are removed.

 

[WinoDave]

I made a Orchard Frozen Concord grape wine one time and used 2 cans for back sweetened and it came out really good. I fermented it out, added the Metasulphite to kill off the yeast then back-sweetened. Added the Kleer last to clear the wine.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Sweetening grape with grape is a traditional method to sweeten.

Grape concentrate is an industrial product which some wineries buy to add to wine. Some/ most industrial concentrate has been deodorized in making concentrate, so that Niagara can be used in Vinifera grapes.