strawberry

[dcrnbrd]

My strwberry wine has been racked over, completed fermenting, and cleared quite nice on its own. When can I add a fining agent, sorbate and backsweetin? Do I add all this at one time?

 

[Waldo]

If fermentation has ended ( verified by takingsg reading on at least 3 consecutive days) then go ahead and add your sorbate and sulphite now. Stir really well to degas properly before adding your fining agent. Lrt the wine clear and I would wait until I am ready to bottle before back sweetning.

 

[dcrnbrd]

How much kmeta do I need for 1 gal? I forgot about that. I am going to wait a little while on bottling, Do i need to add sorbate again before sweetening?

 

[Waldo]

Use 1 campden tablet for the gallon. You will not need to add any more sorbate.

 

[dcrnbrd]

Thanks Waldo I am all over it now

 

[Wade E]

What are you using to back sweeten? I like to back sweeten before fining now as I use natural juices most of the time they have some kind of pulp or in them that could fog things up and i have seen a simple sugar syrup cloud things up to. Both of these will settle out with time but if using a fining agent why clear and then wait to clear again in my opinion.

 

[dcrnbrd]

So do I need to sweetin with the sorbate and fining agent, let it clear then bottle. Is that what your sying wade. I would like to find some berry juice but no luck yet. Will probably use simple sugar syrup.

 

[whino-wino]

You can get the berry juice by going to the grocery store and picking up some frozen strawberries. Just thaw them out and pour them into a straining bag in a bowl. If you can hang the bag and let it sit in the refridgerator for a day and drip into the bowl that is even better. (Don't squeeze the bag) Do this and you should get a nice strawberry syrup to backsweeten with.


I also agree with Wade. When using the "sweet reserve" method to backsweeten, I like to do the sweetening before it clears. You don't have to do it this way though, just be warned that if you do backsweeten after clearing you may need to let it settle again.


Oh, if you aren't using campden tablets, then it would be 1/8tsp per gallon of K-Meta when adding it to your wine.