Over sugared my wine.

[Jasper24]

Hi all me again.

I over sugared my wine by a couple of pounds. I totally screwed up my calculation. What are my options. My starting SG was 1150 and the yeast have only gotten that down to 1100 in four days. How screwed am I.

Thanks for your replies

Hallie

 

[Scooter68]

Which Yeast did you use? The highest alcohol tolerant wine yeast can only get you to 18% and that's under perfect conditions Based on your SG the potential ABV is 21%. So even if you have a high alcohol tolerant yeast in all likelihood you will wind up with a dessert wine - Sweet and High Alcohol. As long as the flavor is strong enough things could work out OK. IF you like a dessert wine.

What variety of fruit?

 

[Jasper24]

Scooter68 thanks for the rePly.

I used champange yeast when I made this strawberry rhubarb wine. The flavor so far is very nice but I don't know anything about dessert wines could you tell me more.

Thanks, Hallie

 

[Cher]

With grape musts it is possible to add acidulated water to reduce the SG if the fruit has too much sugar but I don't think that would give a good result with the already lighter flavors of a fruit wine. You could mitigate things somewhat by adding more fruit or an appropriate (unsweetened) juice, though I've no idea where you might get rhubarb juice. Frozen fruit perhaps? Along with an appropriate amount of water -- no additional sugar -- based on your original recipe. Just a thought, in case dessert wine is not appealing.

 

[dralarms]

What kind of wine?

 

[Jasper24]

What kind of wine?

It is a strawberry rhubarb wine 7 gallons must. This is my first time making it.

Thanks Hallie

 

[dralarms]

It is a strawberry rhubarb wine 7 gallons must. This is my first time making it.

Thanks Hallie

Go to walk mart and buy a few bags of frozen strawberries is what I'd do.

 

[Scooter68]

Agree with dralarms - punch up the volume with more fruit. You may still wind up with a high ABV and some residual sweetness but at least the flavor will be stronger as well.

 

[Jasper24]

Agree with dralarms - punch up the volume with more fruit. You may still wind up with a high ABV and some residual sweetness but at least the flavor will be stronger as well.

Thank you both for your replies but won't the added fruit increase my sugar levels not decrease it.

Once again thanks Hallie

 

[dralarms]

Thank you both for your replies but won't the added fruit increase my sugar levels not decrease it.

Once again thanks Hallie

Not as much as it will increase volume.

If nothing else get some apple juice (light in flavor) and add it to the must

 

[Jasper24]

Not as much as it will increase volume.

If nothing else get some apple juice (light in flavor) and add it to the must

dralarms thanks for running though this with me. I see where you are going with this.

My problem with increase volume is that my primary is almost full as it is. I have very little wiggle room in that area. Would splitting the must into two batches work better that way I could add more fruit and decrease the sugar that way.

once again thanks for your help. Hallie

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Jasper24, What is being suggested is that you ad more fruit and perhaps more liquid (water, perhaps) to increase the volume (while maintaining the richness of flavor from the fruit ) so that you are bringing down the density (the specific gravity) of the wine (and so it's potential alcohol by volume (ABV) so that the yeast can more easily ferment more (or all ) of the sugar.

Alternatively, what you might do (and this more or less amounts to the same thing) is begin a similar second batch of wine (same fruit , if you can find them) but with no added sugar and blend the two. If you use a Pearson's square and you know what ABV you are looking for you can determine precisely how much volume yo need to add to this wine to hit that (nominal ) equivalent starting gravity

The thing is that adding fruit and liquid to increase the volume of this wine (even if you split the wine and ferment in two fermenters) is that the gravity of THIS wine will (hopefully) drop close to brut dry (which you can back sweeten if that was your goal). To begin a second wine and so blend with the first and by so doing reducing the total sweetness of the first through "averaging" (eg and metaphorically speaking 10 + 2 = 12 /2 = 6 ) will mean that you are not going to get your first wine to ferment out and you will need to stabilize it with a great deal of residual sugar still in it before you add the second wine as the second wine could (COULD) re-activate your first wine and ferment much or all of the residual sugar in it.

 

[Jasper24]

Hi Jasper24, What is being suggested is that you ad more fruit and perhaps more liquid (water, perhaps) to increase the volume (while maintaining the richness of flavor from the fruit ) so that you are bringing down the density (the specific gravity) of the wine (and so it's potential alcohol by volume (ABV) so that the yeast can more easily ferment more (or all ) of the sugar.

Alternatively, what you might do (and this more or less amounts to the same thing) is begin a similar second batch of wine (same fruit , if you can find them) but with no added sugar and blend the two. If you use a Pearson's square and you know what ABV you are looking for you can determine precisely how much volume yo need to add to this wine to hit that (nominal ) equivalent starting gravity

Hi Bernard, thank you for your reply. I think I will start a second batch. After a week I am only down to a SG of 1080 from an starting SG of 1150

The taste of the wine is great. I would hate to lose the flavor. Hopefully adding more fruit will help and I will have to read up on the pearson square for adding the water. Once again thanks alo t.

Hallie

 

[dralarms]

You can add water but it will weaken the flavor as well as lower the sg.

 

[Jasper24]

Dralarms, thanks for the rePly. I think I will follow your suggestion and add more fruit and a juice to make a second batch. Once again thanks alot

 

[Scooter68]

If you are using just raw rhubarb you could add that - don't think there is nearly as much sugar in there as in strawberries - OR a combination of both to keep the batch in balance with your original proportions.

As mentioned both of those fruits by themselves don't have enough sugar. The additional fruit is going to contribute to an overall drop in SG not a rise. Secondly by adding the fruit, that increases volume, you are not going to lose the original flavors you were trying to create.

Do you remember what the SG was before you added the sugar? That would help you know the amount of sugar in your batch before the sugar overdose.

 

[Jasper24]

Scooter68 thanks for the information. I must admit to some confusion over the increase volume issue thanks for clearing that up.

Prior to sugar my SG was 1030. I did my math wrong for a 7 gallon must and add to much sugar. I was going for an SG of 1100 since I like strong wines. It's funny really because I hardly drink my own stuff I just like giving it away to friends and family.

I will try to add frozen strawberries since i went a little heavy with the rhubarb.

Once again thanks, Hallie

 

[Jasper24]

Day 15 of my over sugared wine. SG at 1.050 I added yeast nutrients and enegizer to help the yeast get the SG down as low as it can go.

My question is what make a dessert wine? How low should the SG be?

Thanks Hallie