Question on Back-Sweetening w/Juice

[pkm925]

I just made my first fruit wine, plum from my own trees. Wine fermented dry (15% ABV), crystal clear after 60 days and 3 rackings. It tastes good.

I would like to sweetener it as I believe that will help with body and I'm a little concerned with the high alcohol maybe effecting taste as it ages. So my thought was to sweeten with plum juice, adding some plum flavor with the sugar struck me as a good idea.

My concern is that if I do this I'm going to this, it's goodbye crystal clear wine. Maybe even introducing a haze or possibly some other bad thing.

Do you hit any juice like this with peptic enzymes before introducing to wine? Will it clear naturally if I continue to bulk aging after adding juice and sorbates? Thanks.

 

[salcoco]

try a small batch as a bench trial. monitor progress and see if a haze develops then use pectic enzyme to see if clears. this keeps from risking whole batch.

 

[Scooter68]

Since you are at 60 days and crystal clear - it would seem that if you use plum juice from the same source and treat it as you did the original batch - it should clear again by the time you get to 12 months age. I've got the same condition on my plum wine - cleared completely in less than 30 days. It makes the wait harder as it's both clear and great tasting but, I've learned my lesson - age all wines to 12 months and it makes a world of difference.

Properly treated with Pectic Enzyme, K-Meta and Sorbate you should have no problem. I BUT would treat the new juice with Pectic Enzyme several days before adding any to the completed wine batch. That way the alcohol is not going to keep it from doing it's job.

 

[meadmaker1]

Crystal clear plumb in 60 days seems unlikely to me.
But perhaps you stumbled onto a technique that clears quickly. I would like to see your notes on this batch as the plumb i have going will be clearing for 6 months. Is there a layer of sediment on the bottom of your car boy. If so it is still clearing.
To your question, i often use juice when back sweetening, and yes add pectic enzyme in advance.
And yes it will need to clear again.
Im not opposed to using clearing agents if necessary but bentonite is all that i have used. Time and gravity have always come through for me.

 

[Scooter68]

Plum wine at 10 days First photo then at the far right of the second photo at 80 days and it was as clear as the last photo well before I took that photo (3-4 weeks before)

In the line of wines in carboys it's the one on the far right. And it was and is crystal clear. From left to right:
Tart Cherry (3Gallon) - May 31, 2018 (Start of Fermentation dates)
Peach Vanilla - August 3 2017
Apple - October 6 2017
Peach Vanilla - August 3 2017
Mango Pineapple (Small bottle and 4 Liter carboy) - August 21, 2018
Peach (3 gallon) July 11, 2017

Things clear at their own rates for a variety of reasons



To clear my wines I use the following as needed and if possible
Pectic Enzyme Before fermentation and later if needed
Bentonite
Cold crash if possible
Time - lots and lots of time.(As the photo above shows.)
Filtering when almost perfectly clear
The Apple in the photo has been bottled after back sweetening and filtering. It won't be crystal clear ever but I decided to go ahead since it's for me only.