Going to try a Welches Batch -- Concetrate vs Liquid

[steviepointer]

Hi all,
I'm going to try a Welches batch. A few questions:

a)Are there any differences between using frozen vs liquid (64oz) 100% Welches Grape Juice?

b)Should I use the pure concord grape? Or a different variety?

c)Do I need to add any campden tablets to the must, before I pitch the yeast to kill any nasties in there? I see some recipies calling for this, and letting it sit for 12hrs.

d)I don't have an acid test kit. I see some recipies call acid blend of for .75tsp/gal, all the way up to 2 tsp/gal. Should I lean towards more or less acid?


Thanks!

PS:I'm only considering 100% juice. No cocktail stuff. Nothing with sorbate on the ingredients.

 

[Malkore]

a) usually frozen is less likely to have preservatives. its also often cheaper.

b) really depends, though a friend of mine likes to use 1 cherry concentrate for every 3 grape cans.

c) I didn't sanitize the must. If you're using bottled spring water and cans of concentrate, and pitch enough yeast, you shouldn't really have much risk for infection. I would use pectic enzyme though.

d) I would simply find a specific recipe and stick with it since you can't test acid on your own (there's a good recipe on this site in the recipes section for a frozen juice concentrate wine) the lower range you mentioned sounds more like the recipe I used.

 

[deboard]

A) Yes, there could definitely be differences. Frozen 100% juice concentrates usually do not have any preservatives that will interfere with fermentation. Bottle juices may have some. If you want to use bottled juice, look at the ingredients on the back, and look for "Potassium Sorbate" If you see that, it will be almost impossible to get it to ferment. If you see "Potassium Metabisufite", that is probably OK, but it will affect whether you add campden or not.

B) I would use 100% juice either way, Concord for a red or Niagara for white, whichever kind you want to make.

C) If you use frozen concentrate, then you need to add campden, which is a tablet form of Potassium Metabisulfite (or K-meta as you will often see it called here). If you use a bottled juice that lists Potassium Metabisulfite as an ingredient, then don't add more. I always let it sit covered for around 24 hours.

D) I'd stick to the recipe if you don't have a test kit. Too much acid will definitely be noticeable, and too little will leave it tasting flat. There are a few recipes around the forum for concentrate wines if you don't have one already.

 

[deboard]

beat me to it Malkore!

 

[NSwiner]

A : i have done both together in one recipe but the other 2 I did just 100% juice .

B: I have used cranberry/pomegranate ,cranberry/raspberry ,welches white grape/pear and white grape frozen there are alot of 100% juices out there you can use .

C: the only thing I added to mine was sugar & yeast to my first batches & they turned out fine but I did add nutrient & energizer to my last batch . The juice is already processed so I don't think there are any nasties left in it .But each thier own with this part of it .

D: I don't have a acid testing kit and don't worry about it at this point if I was making wine from the real grape juice from a winery I would worry about it . I don't add any acid blend to it .
As far as recipes go I just went through a bunch combined them but went by this one but I used regular airlock . Wade has one posted here that is helpful also .
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6510

Of course there's lots of people here to help you out along the way so go for it & live & learn .
Some sure some of the pros will be along shortly to answer your questions in more detail .

 

[deboard]

for B), I didn't mean to imply not to mix, that's a great idea if you want to be creative. I'd just stick to 100% juice if I were you.

As you can see, we have a lot of differing opinions about a few things on this forum. Sulfites (campden tablets) are one thing that comes up occasionally. With frozen concentrate, you are much less likely to find wild yeast, but it will not hurt to use campden tablets just to be sure. If you ever want to make wine out of fresh fruit like strawberries, or grapes of course, you will want to use sulfite so the wild yeast don't overpower the yeast you choose.

 

[mmadmikes1]

I have been using the liquid from costco. It is Newmans and has no preservitives but Vit C. I love how well it it turns out. I don't like the wine myself but everyone else does and it is easy to make.