Not Trying To Get Into Trouble, But....

[GerardVineyard]

With the latest two threads concerning, freezing wine, at what point does it become illegal? In other words what is the maximum alcohol content wine or beer for that matter, can have before it is considered " hard liquor" ? Is it the high alcohol content or the method of increasing the content, that is the illegal part?

 

[Wade E]

Not sure but I think its the method used.

 

[Stefani]

I can understand the concern for safety. When freezing the alcohol would increase in percentage as well as the harmful chemicals as well. Like Acetone that is harmful. During a distilling process, these harmful chemicals would come out in the "Head" (beginning of the distillation) or the "Tail" (ending of distillation) would be discarded.

I don't believe that so much of the H2O could be removed through cold hardening that the alcohol level would increase by more than 5%-10%.

There are others who would fortify the wine with an unflavored alcohol like 100 proof Vodka or Ever-clear.

Once it finished it, wouldn't it be difficult to determine whether the beverage was hardened through the freezing process or fortified?

 

[GerardVineyard]

By fortifying your wine with vodka, do you then have a wine or a spirit? In making a port how high are you taking the alcohol content? Is there a limit to where you can take it, before you would have to have a distillers license as opposed to just a wine makers license?

 

[Wade E]

Im pretty sure if you buy the hard alc and add it to a wine of yours its all ine and dandy as long as your not selling it. At that point you and the maker have payed the tax for that high abv product and it is a safe product. I know at a certain pint which I believe is somewhere around or just above 15% abv the feds start upping the tax considerbly on the maker or seller of the product. Gerard, what you have is called a fortified wine. The person who made the high abv product in the first place is the only person who needs the distillers licence.

 

[GerardVineyard]

It is above 14% where you pay more taxes on the bottle of wine which is still a lot cheaper than a fifth of liquor which is around $25 a bottle.

So what is the highest abv commercial wine out there? To those that do fortify there own, how high do you go?

 

[mmadmikes1]

You can, if you work at it get into the 20% ranges without fortifying. Make some learning wines first. It involves step feed sugars to active fermentaion. I have got up to 22%

 

[Schuetzen]

I don't know what the tax on liquor is but you can buy a fifth of liquor for considerably less than $25 at retail liquor stores in Texas.

 

[Wade E]

Mike, what yeasts do you typically get that high?

 

[arcticsid]

I make my skeeter pee at 15%.

Miscalculated once and started with too much sugar, it came out at 18% and fermented out without "step feeding" it.

Some narly pee for sure.

I typically use cuvee or champagne (Red Star).

 

[Midwest Vintner]

It is above 14% where you pay more taxes on the bottle of wine which is still a lot cheaper than a fifth of liquor which is around $25 a bottle.

So what is the highest abv commercial wine out there? To those that do fortify there own, how high do you go?

Above 14% is considered fortified wine, even if its just the yeast that goes that high. If you add a shot or two of bourbon and a shot or two of natural maple syrup, our pecan wine becomes something like 14-16% abv and is great like that. We cannot do this on our property because of our license, but we can't stop people from going home and doing it.