Sugar calculation

[karrlot]

Someone on here mentioned that the sugar in a recipe should be a guideline.

When you make wine with fresh fruit, how do you calculate the amount of sugar you need to add to the must for your primary fermentation. After I take the SG, is there a calculation I can do to figure up how many pounds I need to add, or do I just need to start adding some until I get to the SG that I am shooting for?

 

[olusteebus]

Use winecalc. That is a download that will help. When using, do not use decimal points. for example instead of a sg of 1.08, use 108.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f65/winecalc-11337/

Also, I think one cup will raise sg by .18. If I find the source for that I will share with you.

 

[Julie]

As olusteebus, winecalc works pretty good. And yes one cup of sugar will raise sg .018 per gallon.

 

[olusteebus]

As olusteebus, winecalc works pretty good. And yes one cup of sugar will raise sg .018 per gallon.

I just searched for your suggestion to me and I should have said .018

Thanks

 

[karrlot]

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for! Does floating fruit increase SG? If so, do you take that into account and make adjustments or just use the SG that you measure?

 

[southlake333]

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for! Does floating fruit increase SG? If so, do you take that into account and make adjustments or just use the SG that you measure?

I could be totally wrong here but this is what I do. Put the fruit in a mesh bag, mix up the must with some sugar (less than I plan to use), pectic enzyme, etc then place the fruit bag inside. Let it sit for 12 hours or so, then massage the bag for a while to get some juices out of it. Let it sit for another 12 hours, massage the fruit again, then take an SG reading and add sugar until you hit your desired SG. Once you have that, add yeast and go.

The idea is that letting the fruit sit in the water will allow some of the juices to fall out, then squeezing and massaging the fruit will get more out. In the end, the hope is that the SG reading you get will more accurately reflect the total amount of sugar in the must.