Newbie Winemaker question(s)

[jamesngalveston]

sorry for the double post julie, not sure why it happened.

 

[vernsgal]

vernsgal,
Here is the recipe's ingredients per the author, Jack Keller. Don't think I see any mention of pectin enzyme. Is that necessary?

• 3 12-oz cans Old Orchard Frozen Blueberry Pomegranate 100% Juice Concentrate
• 1 lb 13 oz very fine granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp acid blend
• 1/4 tsp powdered grape tannin
• Water to 1 gallon
• 1 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
• Lalvin RC212 wine yeast

It does however state later in the recipe, Stabilize with 1/2 teaspoon potassium sorbate and a finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet; rack again after additional 30 days.

You don't really need the pectic enzyme, it usually helps break down the fruit but seeing you're using concentrate it's not really necessary.I think I would still use it just to ensure you don't get a pectic haze down the road. It doesn't charge the taste any and its inexpensive so if you're able to get your hands on some...
And Julie is right with not needing your SG any higher. Once you go dry that would end you at 12-13% alc. which is all you want in a wine otherwise you start to lose the fruit flavor.

 

[Mr_Detail]

Julie,
You stated earlier,

add only the amount of sugar you need to get an sg to 1.085 and check your acid before adding any acid blend

I know that you measure specific gravity "S.G." with a hydrometer.
With what do you measure the acid levels?

 

[cintipam]

Mr Detail, there are acid test kits out there that are reasonably priced that some folks find ok to use. But I bought 2 diff brands that used diff methods and did a test on all my wine with both kits. Then hubby did the same thing. We are both detail oriented folks, but most of our results did not match up at all. Couldn't even say one kit consistently tested higher than the other. So we bit the bullet and bought a PH meter recommended by many on this forum and found to work well and sold at a great price.

http://www.water-testers.com/contents/en-us/p4325_milwaukee_mw102.html

To me, as a creative winemaker who needed to really really know the PH of what I was creating, it was necessary. If you stick to kits or approved recipes, your acid will probably be ok without the need to do tests. Do remember someone said Jack Keller's recipes run a little shy on acid in general, so having some acid blend around to tweak his recipes would be a good idea. Acid blend is cheap. But be careful and don't overuse. as I'm learning now, it's really really hard to fix a wine that has too much acid, and it won't store well if you don't fix it.

HTH

Pam in cinti

 

[Julie]

Julie,
You stated earlier,


I know that you measure specific gravity "S.G." with a hydrometer.
With what do you measure the acid levels?

I use a ph meter but I do know when you are first starting out you might not be able to get a ph meter. You can get a titration kit for around $12 that would work until you were able to get a ph meter.

Those frozen concentrates normally are somewhat adjusted for acid anyway.

 

[Mr_Detail]

Thank you Pam & Julie.

I use a ph meter but I do know when you are first starting out you might not be able to get a ph meter. You can get a titration kit for around $12 that would work until you were able to get a ph meter.

Julie, why wouldn't I be able to get a ph meter when I am first starting out?
Are there wine police that won't sell one to a rookie?

 

[Julie]

roflmao, no but I hear so many say that they are too busy spending money on carboys that they have no money left for ph meters. The one that Pam has is the one that I have and is by far the easiest to use. I had a Hanna prior to this one. And I was glad to see her use the site that I posted about, everyone else is selling that same meter for roughly around $145.

 

[Stressbaby]

I also use the same meter and to me it is as important as the hydrometer in getting a good result. I tried the Accuvin test strips and found that they were hard to read and sometimes off by pH 0.3 or more.

Getting the pH right is helpful not only in terms of sulfites and preservation but also in terms of taste. One thing Turock posted a while back sticks in my head. He said that until they got the pH down for wine x (can't recall what kind ATM) it "tasted like dishwater." I started tasting my wines with this in mind and he is right, not just for wine x, but for many different kinds of wines.