Backsweetening with homemade fruit syrup

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

My huckleberry wine is about done fermenting. I would like to backsweeten partly with a syrup made from more fresh huckleberries. So I'm cooking the berries with sugar and plan to strain it after cooling. My question is whether I need to add a bit of pectic enzyme in order for it to clear nicely? Anything else I need to know?

 

[Rice_Guy]

Cooking above 180F will solubility any pectin in the system, ,,, (I have not run huckleberry so can’t say how thick/ how strong it will gel) . A cold/ room temperature extract will minimize pectin solubilization, ,,,, however when folks sweat the juice with dry sugar they let the sugar pull the fruit juice out over several weeks.
In a factory environment I would cold fruit press along with required pectase, filter the juice and then add sugar to the clean juice.

 

[winemaker81]

I'd add pectic enzyme, as it won't hurt. Once you sweeten, leave it in the carboy for a month so you can see what happens. If the wine doesn't clear, you can add pectic then.

 

[Val-the-Brew-Gal]

I'd add pectic enzyme, as it won't hurt. Once you sweeten, leave it in the carboy for a month so you can see what happens. If the wine doesn't clear, you can add pectic then.

Thanks! I'll only have about 2 cups of concentrated syrup when done so 1/4 tsp should be sufficient, do you think?

 

[winemaker81]

IIRC, the dosage for powdered pectic enzyme is 1/2 tsp per gallon. However, to the best of my knowledge, you can't overdose pectic enzyme, so 1/4 tsp sounds good.