checking the abv of wine

[sampvt]

I am on my second vinometer and they are both useless. They both read 7 or 8 on all my wines and a shop bought one reads the same so the question is.....Are there any other meters out there that check ABV.

I know the og and finishing sg readings are supposed to be accurate, but my question concerns wines that these reading were not taken a while ago before leaving to age.

 

[sampvt]

Ive seen refractometers advertised on e bay for a reasonable price. Are they any good.

 

[Julie]

refractometer's are very good but once there is alcohol they can not give you a true reading. Why don't you just calculate your ABV? There are calculators that will do this for you or SG - FG * 131 = ABV. Some will use 133 instead of 131, it comes out close enough.

 

[sampvt]

If you read my post, I don't know the OG so my question is regarding the finished wine with no figures.

 

[NorCal]

There is a boiling method, which I have done, but my results were not very accurate when compared to the lab results. I'm sure it was me and how I executed the process.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16259

 

[richmke]

"One researcher found he had to boil a can of beer for 30 minutes before he took the alcohol content down to zero,"

http://io9.com/5971679/does-cooking-alcohol-really-de-booze-your-dishes

"In tests conducted and published by the USDA, adding alcohol to a boiling liquid and removing from heat immediately retained 85% of the alcohol.

"However, the application of heat changes the alcohol content dramatically. Simmering reduces the alcohol levels in a liquid as follows: After just 15 minutes, only 40% of the alcohol is retained. After an hour – 25%. After 2 and a half hours, just 5% of the original alcoholic content is retained.

"Any cooking beyond 2.5 hours won’t change the alcohol content – 5% is the lowest level so long as there is liquid in the dish. This is due to the fact that water and alcohol are azetropic – when combined, their molecules have a high affinity for each other. At 95% water to 5% alcohol, the evaporation rate of both remains identical."

http://blog.fooducate.com/2014/11/23/what-happens-to-the-alcohol-in-wine-when-used-in-cooking/

I couldn't find the USDA study.

 

[Julie]

If you read my post, I don't know the OG so my question is regarding the finished wine with no figures.

I did read your post and I am going by"but my question concerns wines that these reading were not taken a while ago before leaving to age" Sure sounds like you did have a reading but it was awhile ago.

 

[sour_grapes]

Are there any other meters out there that check ABV.

My understanding is that the answer to your question is "No."

As NorCal and Rich were indicating, you can do it by evaporation and rehydration, but not with any meter. Almost no one finds this is worth it, but you might, depending on your needs, skills, and motivation.

 

[PhilDarby]

Personally I find the use of hydrometers a bit quirky, due to the following ;-

1). firstly if your taking an initial reading and there is fruit in the primary, the fruit in the primary wont be factored into the reading, although it will contribute towards the final alcohol content.

2). basically as above, any initial readings will only read the dissolved sugar content.

2). if your taking a final sg reading using an alcohol content hydrometer, you have to bear in mind that there may well be, dissolved things in the final wine which may affect sg readings. Which may well contribute towards an artificially low reading. While they may well be accurate for alcohol from a still, that`s a bit different to wine which has dissolved content from the fruits and stuff you have added.

bearing these things in mind, I find you need to roughly work out what u are expecting from your wine in an abv kind of way, for me I mostly use the sugar I have added as a rough guide and mostly add a few abv on top because of added fruit or juice, for me that's the most accurate way, there being a bit of variation in accuracy, as long as im in the ball park and over the 10% abv cut off im kind of happy,in the knowledge that it will preserve and have a fairly accurate knowledge of its final abv. Bearing in mind the estimate can vary within a few % abv but basically as accurate as can be assessed, also, bear in mind if you back sweeten or add an f pack or alter the contents, that too will alter final abv a bit too.

Adding an f pack, or, back sweetening will also make an alcohol hydrometer more inacurate.

Even if you use a wine calculator, the results can vary slightly from what is expected, as, sugar content in fruit can vary slightly from what is expected, but, you will have a very close ball park figure to work with.

I like wine making here, but, my % abv which I put on my labels, probably do vary a bit from the actual content due to the above, however, I know im in the ball park within a few % abv.

All of the above comments are a good reason for keeping notes, even if just basic ones.

Having said all of the above, kit wines or wines made from, commercial juice should be fairly easy to calculate % abv very accurately.

 

[jensmith]

Just saying.... My sg readings baced abv % were spot on compared to a comershial winerys test equipment. The same tester they use per goverment regs in determining abv content. ( I have a good freind who owns a winery)
This tester is the one that boils a sample of wine to determine abv. I can't remember the name of it, just that it was very pricey!

If no sg was taken at the start then a best guess as to suger additions and original juice can give you an estamite.

This wine is for your drinking. Don't worry about the abv. Just enjoy it!


Sent from my iPod touch using Wine Making

 

[Jericurl]

What was your recipe?

Sometimes you can backtrack if you know how much sugar you added vs water.

As far as any other meters, no I have no idea, sorry.

 

[GreginND]

The vinometers are notoriously inaccurate. And the readings are completely useless if there is any sugar in the wine. They can only provide a rough estimate on absolutely dry wines.