Still new in home wine making

[AKicker]

Hi everyone, hope you all well!
I was introduced by a friend to home wine making in 2020. Got four buckets of juice in September 2020, two carboys left at this point. In September 2021 I got another six buckets, still all in carboys. I'd like to ask one question and hear opinion from the more experienced. I searched on internet a few times but don't seem to be able to find anything.
The situation is, the 2021 ones, they are about six months old or "young". drinkable but clearly a "young" taste. They all taste a little sweet. Still drinkable but not the dry way I would like it be. I understand it tastes sweet because there's residual sugar in it. One article said as far as there's residual yeast nutrition, fermentation could always happen. So I was wondering, if I add a little yeast, put it in a good temperature, I assume it would do a little more fermentation. But do people do this? will this improve or worsen the taste? I don't mind drink the young wine as is, or leave it for another half year or a couple of years and hope it gets better, but still wonder if this could make it a little better.
Thanks for any comment and cheers!
PS: these few weeks I am under a very tight work schedule and have to work over times on almost all days. So am only taking a breaking from my busy days/nights. But will come back and check.

 

[Jim Welch]

I believe folks will need more specific information to render help. Such as, what was the original gravity, final gravity, and yeast used to begin with.
Also, did you use any yeast nutrient? Our yeast friends benefit greatly from appropriate nutrient.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT!

I agree with @Jim Welch . Mainly, what I would want to know is what the specific gravity (SG) is now, i.e., the final gravity (as Jim pointed out).

 

[ratflinger]

You could always blend this with a really dry wine to cut the sweetness.

As a test you could put 1 gal in a separate bottle and hit it with some EC1118. Check the SG first.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to Wine Making Talk

A guideline for where to balance TA on wine;
after club contest this year I collected eight first place wines which are the red triangles
View attachment 81200
The sample set "cloud" is primarily commercial wines, with some collected in the vinters club and here on WineMakingTalk
NOTE: TA is one of several quality traits which a first place wine has as absence of flavor defect, appropriate aroma for the variety and clarity , , , etc.
NOTE 2: this is an easy test, if ya'll are interested in your wine ,,, PM me

There is a term you will see here called balance. In general the sweet flavor is matched with a counterbalancing flavor as acid. A second choice is tannin, and for a wine which is close to bottling a finishing tannin would be used.

On a wine which is six months into being finished I would not start the clock over again with yeast etc. I would use acid blend which increases the Titratable acidity or add a finishing tannin. If this is a grape I would aim toward the tannin. If a acidic concept country wine as cranberry or current I would first try acid.

A good wine maker is also a good cook/ taster.

 

[Sailor323]

I agree with those who stress the importance of final gravity. A wine can be very dry and still taste "sweet." The apparent sweetness is actually fruitiness. I find that many kit wines are quite fruity. If you want something that tastes drier, you could always add tannin to the kit.

 

[Paulietivo]

Have you used a hydrometer?
Which yeast did you use? (If any)
What type of wine are you making?

 

[TxBrew]

Welcome to WMT. Enjoy the forum.

 

[winemaker81]

The "SG" everyone is mentioning is Specific Gravity, which is measured with a hydrometer. It's the density of your wine with respect to water -- above 1.000 indicates sugar is remaining. If you don't have one, get one, as it's the one piece of test equipment we all agree is necessary. Instructions for using a hydrometer are here:

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/how-to-read-hydrometer.10346/
As a general rule, if the SG <= 0.998 and remains stable for 3 days, the ferment is done.

Once we know the SG, we can offer better advice. Until then we're making educated guesses.

 

[mikewatkins727]

The "SG" everyone is mentioning is Specific Gravity, which is measured with a hydrometer. It's the density of your wine with respect to water -- above 1.000 indicates sugar is remaining. If you don't have one, get one, as it's the one piece of test equipment we all agree is necessary. Instructions for using a hydrometer are here:

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/how-to-read-hydrometer.10346/
As a general rule, if the SG <= 0.998 and remains stable for 3 days, the ferment is done.

Once we know the SG, we can offer better advice. Until then we're making educated guesses.

I highly support @winemaker81's statement to get a hydrometer. I would add to get a spare. They are fragile glass and break at the most inopportune time. Generally cost about 5 -6 dollars and upward. I have two backups and one that has a thermometer. Just saying . . .

 

[KYBEER]

New to wine making. Made beer for over 30 years and have a few questions.
Can I use my refractometer with ATC to measure wine O.G,?
Where is a good source for how to make wine from Bello Juice buckets?
Thanks

 

[sour_grapes]

New to wine making. Made beer for over 30 years and have a few questions.
Can I use my refractometer with ATC to measure wine O.G,?
Where is a good source for how to make wine from Bello Juice buckets?
Thanks

Yes, you can use a refractometer to measure the SG before the fermentation starts (OG). However, once the fermentation kicks off, it is best to switch to a hydrometer. (There are ways to correct the refractometer reading for the presence of alcohol, but, really, do yourself a favor and just get a $8 hyrdrometer.)

Here are good guides on red and white winemaking to get you started: MoreManuals! Winemaking Guides | MoreWine

For juice buckets, you can ignore all the stuff about punching down the skins, etc., in the red guide. In fact, I am guessing that you could just follow the white-wine guide, regardless of whether you are making red or white.