Back sweetin

[Ramrod2021]

Another question if i were too backsweetin a 3gal and a 4gal jug of wine how much would be added? And what kind of sugar too add?

 

[winemaker81]

Plain 'ole table sugar works fine. Some folks make a sugar syrup -- boil 1 cup water, stir in 2 cups sugar until it's clear. Cool to room temperature. OTOH, I usually just stir granulated sugar into the wine.

How much? That depends on your tastes.

I'm a dry wine guy -- my version of "sweet" is still quite dry. 3/4 cup sugar in 5.5 gallons of mead changed the SG from 0.996 to 1.003, which is just off-dry.

First treat the wine with potassium sorbate and K-meta, typically 1/2 tsp sorbate per gallon (check your package in case the formulation is different from mine).

Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time, stirring very well after each addition, then taste. When you think the wine needs just a bit more, stop.

I suggest you keep track of how much sugar you added and what the final SG is. This will help in backsweetening future wines.

 

[Ramrod2021]

Cool thanks for info. But not understanding OTOH? What does that mean? And do you get them numbers from a hydrometer or brix meter? I ordered both am still waiting to be delivered from Amazon

 

[Ramrod2021]

one more thing can you screw up a wine enough to actually poison yourself?

 

[Jovimaple]

Cool thanks for info. But not understanding OTOH? What does that mean? And do you get them numbers from a hydrometer or brix meter? I ordered both am still waiting to be delivered from Amazon

OTOH = on the other hand

Yes, specific gravity (S.G.) is determined with a hydrometer

 

[mikewatkins727]

OTOH is an acronym for On The Other Hand.

one more thing can you screw up a wine enough to actually poison yourself?

Not unless you add a poison, usually if you screw it up it won't taste good and you will find another use for the wine (cooking, fertilizer. bottled as a decoration).

A lot of hydrometers have both Brix and Specific Gravity scales on them. Be warned: buy backup hydrometers! You will soon understand why.

 

[Rice_Guy]

food poisoning is extremely unlikely, alcohol, pH, exclude air, no sugar all act as preservatives

one more thing can you screw up a wine enough to actually poison yourself?

gravity and brix are convertible units, most folks talk gravity with wine and brix in the vineyard

back sweetening is normally done to taste based on the Titratable Acidity.

1) Cabernet sauvignon
View attachment 72205
by the numbers your Cab has a high TA 1.02%, low pH 3.05, normal gravity 0.995; the two samples I put in for reference (California & Florida commercial wines) have a TA in the "normal" range.
opinion: (if I look at this as a grocery store beverage) for that high a TA the numbers would suggest that it should be sweetened to be in the orange band, however it isn't a very tannic flavor so the balance is good, transparent..clean, good flavor/ no off flavors (VA) so technically it is a well made wine. A guess is that you sourced a northern Cab for reference two juice buckets in the club were:

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile 2020​

3.83​

1.085​

​

0.49%​

Cabernet Sauvignon, California 2019​

3.28​

1.090​

​

0.44%​

I suggested members try to get the TA to 0.65% if they were competing in state fair next year, you are balanced so ignore the "rules".
,,,,, RiceGuy

 

[salcoco]

a safer method is a bench trial. make the syrup as suggested two cups sugar to one cup water mix in a blender or boil on stove let cool, take measured samples of wine , 1/4 cup or 100ml. add 1/4 tsp(1.25ml) to first, twice this in second, three times in third etc. do taste test pick winner calculate the main batch size add sorbate and k-meata

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Ramrod2021, Not likely that you can screw up a wine to poison yourself. Wine has enough acidity and alcohol in it that no common or garden pathogen is likely to survive BUT that does not mean that if you make a wine from a fruit that is toxic to humans or from flowers that are toxic that the wine you make cannot make you very seriously ill if not worse. In other words, a) don't make a wine from any substrate that no one else uses and b) if you are foraging for fruits and plants for your wine making know EXACTLY what you are picking. For example, wild grapes are fine but moonseed berries which look very similar to the uninitiated eye can kill you. Some flowers are edible but others are not just inedible, they are toxic.
In sum, then, it is not the fermentation that will ever be a health risk (unless you drink like a fish or drink and drive) but just be prudent when it comes to selecting fruit and flowers to ferment.

 

[mikewatkins727]

My backsweetening technique is to bench test the wine by adding 5 ml shots of a 2:1 syrup to 8 ouncse of wine. Stir well & taste. Not sweet enough? Add another 5 ml and repeat taste testing. Add up the number of 5 ml shots. One gallon contains 16 cups (8 ounces). You've sweeten 1 cup so now you have 15 to sweeten. If you have added 4 shots of 2:1 syrup and that is fine for you, then 4 X 5 ml = 20 ml. Assuming a 1 gallon batch you then have to add 15 X 20 = 300 ml of syrup. I use a syringe to add the 5 ml shots

 

[winemaker81]

Keep in mind that there is often more than 1 answer to wine making questions. The opposite is true -- there is rarely only 1 correct answer. Multiple methods for backsweetening is a great example of this! Think about "why" people use the method they do and make your best decision. You can change your mind and use a different method next time.

 

[Ramrod2021]

Hey thank you all for the methods y'all use and yes benardsmith i do forage wild friuts.to make my wine and jellies/jams and lol thanks for the on the other hand thing everyday is a learning process. Ok real quick what is meant by rackin your wine?it don't mean bottling and puttin it up lol and a must what is that?.hope i don't seem like a moeron

 

[BernardSmith]

Wine making is an old craft and old crafts often use terms that are as old as the craft. Racking refers to the fact that wine is moved from one container to another without pouring (to avoid the wine coming into too much contact with air (oxygen) which can eventually lead to off flavors and off colors due to oxidation. We siphon the wine through a tube with one end of the tube inserted towards the bottom of the full carboy and the other end of the tube inserted (typically) towards the bottom of the empty carboy. This method allows the transfer of the wine with the least contact with oxygen.

 

[stickman]

Just another minor point to be aware of, be careful when adding dry sugar to wine, add slowly watching for co2 release, depending on the amount of dissolved co2 remaining from fermentation, it is possible for the sugar crystals to cause an eruption, often referred to as a wine volcano.

 

[winemaker81]

@Ramrod2021, there's always more to learn! Keep asking questions!

An autosiphon makes racking a LOT easier, although recently I purchased a wine pump to make transferring wine in/out of barrels much easier. Here's an example of an autosiphon:

https://www.amazon.com/Fermtech-5478-6H-Auto-Siphon-Tubing-Clamp/dp/B00SDLLZDY/ref=sr_1_2

 

[Rice_Guy]

A racking set up, mainly gravity but I use vacuum to start everything, (SO2 sanitizer burns the lungs)

 

[Ramrod2021]

Rackin is meant transfer???

 

[winemaker81]

Rackin is meant transfer???

Yes. The intention is normally to remove the wine without disturbing any sediment. Early in the process, right after fermentation completes, the sediment can be a thick layer, sometimes a couple of inches in a 5 gallon carboy.

Most folks use a racking cane, a tube with a bend in one end and a vented cap on the other. Wine is pulled in from above, not from below, so sediment is less likely to be sucked up.




The autosiphon is favored as you don't need to suck on it to get the flow moving, you pump it.

 

[Ramrod2021]

Thanks gonna get one