cherry concentrate

[countrygirl]

i am currently fermenting a cherry, made from the cherry concentrate you can find at krogers, used 3 (?quart bottle) bottles for a 5 gallon batch. s.g. 1.080, cotes de blanc. fermentation is going well, down to 1.002. tastes tart (of course) with a little sweetness still present, but not strong alcohol at all. will the alcohol become more noticeable as it gets drier?

 

[bob1]

I dont think you are going to taste the alcohol more. As it ages the malic acid will fall off a bit helping with the tartness.

 

[winemaker_3352]

With that wine you don't want the ABV to over power the fruitiness of the wine. You might have been able to go with a starting SG of 1.085 with that - next time try the Lalvin 71B-1122 - it will aid in metabolizing the malic acid.

 

[jswordy]

With a nod to what has been said so far, I think as it gets to .990 and the last of the sweetness goes away, you should taste a much tarter raw alcohol presence. I personally hate that taste, and am happy when it mellows over time. When you backsweeten or f-pac or whatever, you should smooth it out quite a bit, but the rough edge won't go without aging.

The 71B-1122 is my mainstay yeast and ferments to 14%. I love the stuff for almost anything unless I am seeking really high-alcohol wine. Then I go with EC 1118, which runs up to 18% and can be pushed a bit farther with staged sugar and nutrient additions. That's 20-proof range!

Is your cherry concentrate black cherry or tart cherry?

 

[countrygirl]

tart cherry...i will f pac/backsweeten...any s.g. numbers to go back up to for a cherry?

 

[jswordy]

I don't have any sg numbers. Every recipe I've seen for cherry just says "sweeten to taste."

The tart cherry carries more bite into the wine than the black cherry does, and that's why I asked. Black cherry usually has to be supplemented with acid.

 

[countrygirl]

I don't have any sg numbers. Every recipe I've seen for cherry just says "sweeten to taste."

The tart cherry carries more bite into the wine than the black cherry does, and that's why I asked. Black cherry usually has to be supplemented with acid.

the recipe i used did call for a small amount of acid blend...i don't have the recipe at this moment, but will post it later tonight...