SPARKLING WINE

[NorthernWinos]

Looks like you've been having a blast!!!!


Glad it worked out well...Lots of bubbles there in your and my mouth is watering....


What is it in the bubbly wine that goes to your head so fast????


Bubbly has always been my most favorite wine.

 

[Wade E]

Great job JWM!

 

[1Mainebrew]

What do you top up with and when? Immediately after degorging? Do you just top up with other bottles and consolidate or do you add more sugar? Sorry I'm arriving late to the party.

 

[GreginND]

Yes, this thread is pretty old. But the information is still excellent.

You can top up with a still wine or sacrifice one of your bottles to do the topping up. I would also add a portioned does of sulfite to the bottle.

By the way, it is much easier to do the sparkling fermentation using crown caps. Those bottles are designed for crown caps for that purpose. Then put the champagne stopper in after disgorging. You should not lose that much wine out of the bottles.

If you want to add something to sweeten it, you need to top up with juice or sugar syrup and add potassium sorbate to prevent it from fermenting.

 

[1Mainebrew]

So I was wondering about adding potassium sorbate after degorging. Doesn't that prevent more carbonation from forming?

 

[GreginND]

So I was wondering about adding potassium sorbate after degorging. Doesn't that prevent more carbonation from forming?

Yes. That's the point. After you have carbonated it you don't want it to ferment more and explode.

 

[ckvchestnut]

I know this may sound dumb or extremely low class to some of you But we always do our cider sparkling style. We do backsweeten without using Sorbate to avoid refermenting. We use 2 liter green pop bottles with the plastic caps to bottle. We keep the bottles and reuse them and the caps. Have not encountered anything bad too date, no explosions etc. We kind of treat it like beer. We backsweeten each bottle with a teaspoon of sugar.

 

[GreginND]

Are you saying that you charge it with sugar to allow it to ferment and carbonate and then you add more sugar to sweeten it? And it doesn't keep fermenting?

 

[ckvchestnut]

Are you saying that you charge it with sugar to allow it to ferment and carbonate and then you add more sugar to sweeten it? And it doesn't keep fermenting?

Haha no sorry I'm sure I worded that wrong. Ferment to dry then rack off lees, backsweeten without Sorbate with 1 tsp sugar in each bottle and allow to sit for 3-4 weeks. We have found that the plastic screw caps work we'll to prevent explosions. And you only get a small amount of fizziness.

 

[GreginND]

Ah, yes. But you will end up with a dry bubbly doing that. I suggested sorbate IF they wanted to sweeten it up after carbonation and disgorging.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Ah, yes. But you will end up with a dry bubbly doing that. I suggested sorbate IF they wanted to sweeten it up after carbonation and disgorging.

Yes I realized that afterwards that would get a drier taste. I wonder if due to the lack of air in the bottle if the yeast would only ferment so much of the sugar before you actually drink it.

My hubby mentioned xylitol to me and that he read somewhere that the yeast wouldn't eat so it was good to backsweeten with and no refermenting. Does anyone have any experience with xylitol? He said he found it at the bulk store.

 

[ckvchestnut]

So you could use the 1tsp per bottle for carbonation and then xylitol for taste?

 

[1Mainebrew]

Has anyone done this with a banana wine?

 

[1Mainebrew]

Well, I never got an answer, so I'm working on the sparkling banana wine myself. Its nearing completion of fermentation and once dry and clear I will bottle it up and get this going! I made 3 gallons, so would just under a cup of sugar work for the carbonation? Thanks in advance!