Why is 1.090 SG the magic number?

[Charlesthewino]

I'm a year into this new hobby and I have been pondering this question. So a few batches ago I decided to push the limits. I started a batch of White Cherry Grape from juice. I increased the sugar until I hit the starting SG of 1.140. Now, I prefer sweet wines so I was really ok with a partial fermentation. Final SG was 1.044. The airlock had all but stopped bubbling and I saw roughly .100 drop in SG so I figured it was done. The end wine was absolutely fantastic! Great flavor and good kick. I estimated the end result was roughly 18% ABV.

The next batch was a apple/pear and then a banana wine with the same starting 1.140 SG. Similar results on final SG. However, both the apple/pear and the banana wines are very strong. Lots of alcohol...very little flavor. I'm mixing them with other batches with low ABV and that lowers the overall ABV and brings the flavor back. So I guess my experiment reveals that the higher ABV yields a lot of kick, but the compromise is it loses the flavor.


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[WVMountaineerJack]

You need balance, you are looking at it in only 1 dimension, the alcohol level, all parts of the wine must be considered. If you are going to make a high alcohol wine you need to build it from the beginning, just adding more sugar is not the way to do it. You need to build in more flavor, to balance the acids and tannins with the alcohol. You have not lost flavor, you just didnt add enough at the start for this style. WVMJ

 

[seth8530]

Not much for me to add to what jack said, but the reason why most people say 1.090 is a good place to start is because that is what tends to lead to a moderate final abv of close to 12%

BTW, on you first wine I am calculating your abv to be around 12.56% It could be that you like sweet wine.

 

[salcoco]

10-12% alcohol is the minimum abv required to keep bacterial activity at bay. 10% works best for some delicate fruit wines. 12% is great for grape wines. Federal taxes for commercial wineries are higher for abv above 14% another incentive to keep it lower.

 

[Thig]

BTW, on you first wine I am calculating your abv to be around 12.56% It could be that you like sweet wine.

Yeah something is wrong with his numbers, if he meant it had dropped to 1.004 then that would be closer to 18%.

 

[fabrictodyefor]

Interesting thread....I've only been at this hobby for a year, but with my fruit wines I have been going with a lower abv....trying for closer to 11%. I find the fruit flavor comes forward without the strong alcohol first. Also since I like my wines so much better than store bought, I want to drink just a wee bit more without falling over when I stand up!!

 

[Tom_S]

Alcohol tends to numb the taste buds, so the higher alcohol levels, the less taste you'll get. And frankly I like being able to drink a couple glasses of wine without feeling tipsy. I much prefer a wine that's balanced rather than one which gives me a buzz after one glass.

 

[seth8530]

Indeed, I think the general consensus is that 10-12 percent is perfect for most fruit wines and that in general most other wines should not be much above 12 ish unless it would cause more harm than good to the fruit you are working with. Or unless you are designing a port or something of that nature.

 

[HillPeople]

Yes- if the SG numbers are correct that would be 12.57% ABV.
In my experience even EC 1118 will die off before complete fermentation with a starting SG of 1.140.
I try to start at 1.085-1.090 for grape wines. Ending at .992 gives you a ABV of 12.7- 12.8, which is a good number to shoot for IMHO.
As posted above, if you want good taste and a little kick, go with those benchmarks, but you also need to pay attention to pH and TA (and SO2) to keep things in balance. Rocket fuel is OK- for rockets.

 

[Charlesthewino]

Oops. My math was off of the 18% It would have ended up there if it went completely dry.


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[Charlesthewino]

A bit more info. The White Cherry Grape used Red Star Montrachet yeast. It fizzled out before getting dry. I just realized that both the Pear/Apple and the Banana both used Lalvin EC1118. The Pear/Apple ended up at 1.020 SG or approx 15.75% ABV. The Banana is still fermenting and is currently at 1.012 SG or approx 16.8% ABV. So the two batches using the Lalvin EC1118 were more agressive. Nonetheless, it is too strong from an alcohol standpoint.


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[seth8530]

Yup, looks like you have found that you enjoy the lower alcohol and higher residual sugar fermentatoins from your home made wine.

What do you normally drink?

 

[Charlesthewino]

I prefer sweet fruit wines.


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