just curious....concord color

[kristie8888]

My Welches Concord Concentrate looks like the color of a vial of red blood. I expected it to be a bit darker and more purple. I wascuriousof others experience if yourconcord concentratesturned out the same color.



I love the color so I don't mind if it is off a bit.


I was trying to expose it to extra oxygen for a few days (fart smell)and believe that the color might have changed from slightoxidation.

 

[grapeman]

I haven't made any wine from straight Concord concentrate, so I can't say for sure what color to expect. I have made a 6 gallon batch from Concord grapes I grow along with a couple cans of concentrate to stretch my limited grapes last year - didn't have quite enough. Even keeping the skins in for a few days, the color came out a ruby color- very pretty. After being in the bottle almost a year, it is getting pretty good. Good luck with it. You say it is like a vial of blood. That tells me there is still a lot of yeast in it. As the yeast dies off and falls out, it will get clearer and will change color some more. Don't rush it, wait until it is fully cleared before bottling and then give it plenty of aging time and you will be pleased.


If you want something to drink a little quicker, get yourself a kit from George with an Island Mist cooler. They are done in about a month and are drinkable then but will improve with some aging.


Have fun!

 

[kristie8888]

Im really suprised that your wine was a ruby color coming from a recipe with fresh grapes in it.


The cheap concord wine (Im guilty...I like it) that they sell in the grocery store is on the ruby- plum side. Maybe they add some coloring.

 

[scotty]

My questionsare.What proportion of concentrate towater did you use? Also what brand of concentrate was it? OOPS WELCHES!!!!!!Edited by: scotty

 

[PolishWineP]

Im really suprised that your wine was a ruby color coming from a recipe with fresh grapes in it.


The cheap concord wine (Im guilty...I like it) that they sell in the grocery store is on the ruby- plum side. Maybe they add some coloring.

Don't feel guilty for enjoying some cheap, concord wine. Good for you! You know what you like and aren't afraid to admit it.

More power to you for that!
The amount of water you add will certainly affect your color, as will time and other factors. My beet wine started out a beautiful magenta and ended up a washed out color. But I like how it's tasting and should be really good in the next year!

 

[kristie8888]

Scotty,
I used 2 cans and topped up with waterto one gallon.

 

[pkcook]

kristie,


I've got 6 gallon of concord wine made from concentrate (brownwood acres) but not welches. The color is the color of a Merlot or Cab, very deep and rich. I made a gallon from welches and it was very dark as well, but Iused 2 half-gallon bottles of welches juice with one can of concentrate. Made very good wine, but I bottled it too early and had a sparkling concord

. You can add some additional concentrate to sweeten and that will deepen the color a bit.

 

[scotty]

Scotty,
I used 2 cans and topped up with waterto one gallon.

Are you not satisfied with the color of your wine???
I have made 1 galion batches with one can and one 2 1/2 gallon batch with one can. ((this was before realized that the sweet results with one of the 1 gallon batches was because it didnt ferment completely)). I had this brainy idea to make a rose looking wine with the 2.5 gallon batch.
I was satisfied with the color of the 1 gallon batch made with 1--11.5 ounce welches conentrate.. I think i will try 2 cans/gallon on the next batch. I am also going to start a 6 gallon kit when i get back to florida next week.
I have a recipe that calls for from 1 to 3 cans per galloon . I want to trythe 3 can one too. Naturally,((now that i read something new))i will treat all the future welches batches with pectic enzyme before adjusting sugar and pitching yeast.
I am interested in what color result you desired because i find it fun trying to get welches to come out interesting and taste well too. (( I will admit that i never drank a fine wine in my life though)) and i dont expect to do it with welches. I just want to see what can come of this welches thing.


I haven't tasted or adjusted the 2.5 gallon batch yet. I will do that when i get home if it hasn,t turned into something nasty by then.

Edited by: scotty

 

[kristie8888]

Scotty, I do not desire any specific color (red happens to be my favorite color in general so I don't mind a red wine)


I love the color! It just looks more like a country wine than a grape wine and took me for surprise. So far Im finding that 2 cans to 1 gallon batch is just full bodied enough for me. The color is very concentrated, but looks nothing like a cab or merlot so far.


Ive tasted alot of commercial wines but as for fine wines.(huh) Does $99 a bottle count? Probably not,and I did not like either one of them.

You know while I was researchinghow to make wine (before my first batch) I was against making welches concentrate wines. It just seemed like cheating. But I smartened up and decided that...
1. It will be easiet for my first batch
2. It will clear faster than a batch made from fresh fruit.
3. I will love it.
So now here I am with a 2nd batch of peach/Niagara welches concentrate in the primary. So far so0o0o0o good. Edited by: kristie8888

 

[scotty]

I have a gallon of white grape peach in the refer. 1 can per gallon. I like it too. i didn't have to adjust the sugar after fermentation on that one because although it is dry, it has flavor too. I did however have to touch up the regular concord grape gallon after fermentation(again one 11.5 oz can pe gallon.. The cran raspberry gallon is waiting for me to test next week. I now cant wait to reach the point where i taste my kit wine.
Then i guess after that. i will be calling welches concentrate jelly juice LOL.


Just as a note, I have not yet startedusing pectic enzyme in my welches expereiments. Thats next.
$99 a bottle. WOW.
Thats James Bond wine

 

[kristie8888]

Just as a note, when Im buying the wine I try to stay in the cheap range

Im suprised you only use one can to a gallon. Was your concord watery?


In the peach I used 2 cans concentrateand 1 1/2 cans of Jumex peach nectar to help top off with the water for added flavor. Then I just adjusted (lowered) the sugar.


Wow, I guess Im going to have super peachy wine. Edited by: kristie8888

 

[NorthernWinos]

Geee..I might be using too much juice....tho I did like the wine I made....I made a Welch's White [Niagara...?] Wine...and Concord using recipes from the Forum with some added ingedients....
For the Niagara I used 9-64oz bottles of Welch's drinking juice, 6 cans frozen Welch's concentrate, 2 bottles Wine Expert White grape concentrate and only needed 1 3/4 pounds of sugar to get the SG to 1100 [might not have needed any sugar]...it was a 6 gallon batch....thought the wine was weak flavored during fermentation, but it turned out rather good at bottling.....anxious to be able to try it again and see how it is aging. Guess grape wine is usually made with pure grape juice and I was trying to mimic that...
The Concord juices have a more robust flavor...when I made batches of that I used...15 cans of frozen concentrate, 2 bottles of Wine Expert red grape concentrate and only needed 2 1/2 pounds of sugar to bring the SG to 1094, added some water to that batch.....it was also a 6 gallon batch...it was a good foxy red wine and was gone very quickly.
I might try less juices in the next batches and see how it compares....everyone has different tastes...make and drink what you like....

 

[kristie8888]

Northern Winos,
15 cans does seem like alot but its only 2 1/2 cans per gallon. I might try that. I like lots of flavor as long as its not syrupy.


Besides, every time I rack I will lose body from the water I have to put in the siphon hose. (is there something cheap that I can buy to help siphon without the addition of water?)

 

[scotty]

The welchers are coming out of the closet eh????

The one can per gallon of the grape was lacking body in my opinion but reminded me of the table wines my family drank at the table at our traditional talian- holiday gatherings.
(( My grandfather had all the equipment including a special cellar, press and barrels. He was however a vinegar maker. His wines were awfull.))
Actually,I also would like more body in my grape so i will spring for 2 cans per gallon in the first gallon i try after i get my 6 gallon kit going.
Im converting my spare bedroom into a wine factory along with a computer, desk and tv. Want a free double bed
I have only those super fancy sheds that some of the folks here have set up to blame for this recent compulsion.
I don't have the space fora shackand actually my motorcycle stable is my money pit.Edited by: scotty

 

[pkcook]

Kristie,


One thing to remember about winemaking, as long as the yeast is robust enough they will convert all sugar to alcohol. As you did, I made a peach wine (1 gal)from Welches White Grape/Peach juice (2 cans/gallon)in June of 2005. After this wine I made 6 gallons from Wal-Mart brand white grape/peach and added 6 cans of Welches frozen concentrate checking the SG along the way. Ended up adding more sugar to 1.100 (Wish I had stopped at 1.085-1.090).


I added simple syrup to both batches and stablized/bottled. I just opened the last of the 1 Gal batch and compared it to a bottle from the 6 Gal batch. The difference in the peach flavor was extreme! The 2 can batch was very good, but did not have the intensity of peach flavor that the 6 gallon recipe had. On the 6 gallon batch I split the batch and bottled 5 dry, 10 semi-sweet, and 15 dessert. I prefer semi-sweet, but the alcohol level is a little high and shows through in the semi-sweet. The dessert masks the high alcohol better, and my wife loves it sweet.


With peach, I've found that the more juice the better, whereas in a raspberry or blackberry wine the higher juice content will have to have lots of bottle age to mellow.


Experiment with different volumes of concentrate in small batches and keep good notes and make larger batches in what suits you. Sorry for such a long post, but I love this stuff!

 

[kristie8888]

pkcook,
the initial SG on my peach wine was 1.095


So far both my batches taste great!(But the peach hasn't reached its full alcohol potential either. Hope I don't end up with dessertwine too. Im just trying to err on the side of caution for safetypurposes when it comes to having high enough alcohol levels to preserve the wine. (Pretty dumb when Im only making 1 gallon batches huh) It seems that the recipes Im getting off ofjack keller website are pretty tried and true.


I want to start the next batch as a pure banana wine. But I have even heard that banana wine is great but doesn't taste like bananas. I wonder if there is a different fruit that willadd banana flavors.


Scotty,
Thankfully winemaking is pretty cheap so you can put more into your motorcycles. (I don't know it sounds like your trying to get a little technical with your wine factory)

 

[pkcook]

Kristie,


You hit the nail on the head, "my batches taste great!" That is the key to good wine making, pleasing the one that will drink the wine. Jack's site is one of my most frequently visited sites for recipes, but I'm a tweaker! My first peach wine left me a little disappointed, so I tweaked it a little and I love the adjustment.


Not dumb at all to shoot for an adequate alcohol level for preservation even with a 1 gallon batch. You never know when you might be able to keep a bottle for a couple of years, and you would hate to open it up and find it had gone bad!


Most threads I've read on banana wine said the same thing, "not much banana taste." I've read where people use it to blend with.