tart wine

[Autumnridgewine]

Hi all,

I recently made 1.75 gallon of wine from Welch's grape juice. It is dry, as I preferred. However, it is too tart. Is there a way to fix this? Should I add some sugar and a packet of EC118, or is there another option? Thanks for any advice.

 

[lumpher]

If you add more sugar without stabilizing it, it will just ferment out and become stronger. Do you have Campden tablets or Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulphite? If you have Campden tablets, add 1.5-2 of them. If you have the powder, use it per instructions. If you have none of the above, you can chill it really cold, keep it cold, then add sugar, and drink it fast.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

If you add more sugar without stabilizing it, it will just ferment out and become stronger. Do you have Campden tablets or Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulphite? If you have Campden tablets, add 1.5-2 of them. If you have the powder, use it per instructions. If you have none of the above, you can chill it really cold, keep it cold, then add sugar, and drink it fast.

Ok, thank you for this. I did put Campden tablets in the beginning. Should I add more?

 

[lumpher]

Yes. The original Campden kills all the wild yeast at the beginning so your wine yeast can take control. That Campden settles out in a day or so. The Campden added when you are ready to backsweeten takes out the wine yeast so it doesn't just ferment your sweetener.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

Yes. The original Campden kills all the wild yeast at the beginning so your wine yeast can take control. That Campden settles out in a day or so. The Campden added when you are ready to backsweeten takes out the wine yeast so it doesn't just ferment your sweetener.

Great, thank you! I'll give it a try.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

Yes. The original Campden kills all the wild yeast at the beginning so your wine yeast can take control. That Campden settles out in a day or so. The Campden added when you are ready to backsweeten takes out the wine yeast so it doesn't just ferment your sweetener.

Ok, there is no instructions on the campden packet and the potassium carbonate packet. Can you make a recommendation about how much to add to 1.75 gallons? I'm not finding any answers in my online searches. Thanks again for your help!

 

[lumpher]

The rule of thumb is 1 Campden tablet per gallon. Potassium Carbonate is to reduce acidity. What you want is Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulphite. You can just use about 1.5 Campden tablets and that should take care of it. Adding Potassium Carbonate tends to lead to wine diamonds. While not harmful, they can ruin the clarity of the wine.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

The rule of thumb is 1 Campden tablet per gallon. Potassium Carbonate is to reduce acidity. What you want is Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulphite. You can just use about 1.5 Campden tablets and that should take care of it. Adding Potassium Carbonate tends to lead to wine diamonds. While not harmful, they can ruin the clarity of the wine.

ok, I'll put in 1.5 campden tablets. Are you saying I should also add potassium sorbate (I have some of that too, but how much, if I should add that too?). And how long should I let it sit before bottling? Thank you!

 

[Autumnridgewine]

The rule of thumb is 1 Campden tablet per gallon. Potassium Carbonate is to reduce acidity. What you want is Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulphite. You can just use about 1.5 Campden tablets and that should take care of it. Adding Potassium Carbonate tends to lead to wine diamonds. While not harmful, they can ruin the clarity of the wine.

ok, I'll put in 1.5 campden tablets. Are you saying I should also add potassium sorbate (I have some of that too, but how much, if I should add that too?). Thank you

 

[lumpher]

To ensure stabilization. I'd use about 1.5 Campden tablets and 1/4 teaspoon (or maybe even a little less for 1.75 gallons) of Potassium Sorbate. Give it a couple days, then backsweeten and package. If you tried it with Campden alone, it wouldn't do what it needs to do. Without Sorbate, you'd have to add so much Campden you couldn't drink the wine.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

To ensure stabilization. I'd use about 1.5 Campden tablets and 1/4 teaspoon (or maybe even a little less for 1.75 gallons) of Potassium Sorbate. Give it a couple days, then backsweeten and package. If you tried it with Campden alone, it wouldn't do what it needs to do. Without Sorbate, you'd have to add so much Campden you couldn't drink the wine.

Thank you, I'll let you know how it turns out!! One last question . Should I stir it up, or just drop it in and let it work? Sorry for all my newbie questions.!

 

[lumpher]

Crush the tablets, and sprinkle it and the Sorbate on top of the wine. You can stir it in if you want to, but if you haven't racked it yet, stirring will also stir up all the sediment on the bottom of the fermenter. Either rack the wine on top of the powder, or just sprinkle it on top. No problem with all the newbie questions; we were all newbies at 1 point. Degassing the wine will also help, but that's probably for a future endeavor.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

Alright, perfect! I just added them. I'll let you know how it turns out in a few days. I'll probably wait till Sunday (4 days), then sample it, and back sweeten if I decide I want to do that.

 

[Raptor99]

To ensure stabilization. I'd use about 1.5 Campden tablets and 1/4 teaspoon (or maybe even a little less for 1.75 gallons) of Potassium Sorbate. Give it a couple days, then backsweeten and package. If you tried it with Campden alone, it wouldn't do what it needs to do. Without Sorbate, you'd have to add so much Campden you couldn't drink the wine.

What does it say on the package of Potassium Sorbate? Mine says to add 1/2 tsp. per gallon.

 

[Autumnridgewine]

What does it say on the package of Potassium Sorbate? Mine says to add 1/2 tsp. per gallon.

Mine has no instructions on it... hmmm. I only added 1/4 tsp. I guess I should go back and add another about another 3/4 tsp...(a little less than that since I have 1.75 gallons)?

 

[lumpher]

Raptor is correct. I had a brainfart. Yes, it's 1/2 tsp per gallon. All of a sudden my brain started processing for 1/2 a gallon... I'd add another 1/2 a tsp.