| CONTACT INFO |
| webmaster@erproviders.com 716 626 3099 |
Making Supplies
|
Sweetening:
Wines that are high in acid or those with a strong fruity character
can often benefit from the addition of sugar. Since it is impractical to
stop fermentation at a desired level of sweetness, or to add excess
sugar before or during fermentation in hopes of having it stop with
some sweetness left, the wine (with the exception of Sweet Reserve
described below) should be fermented out dry and sweetened at a
later time. Bottling untreated wines with residual sugar is always a
risky proposition.
There are no safe chemicals that can be added to a wine that will
stop an ongoing fermentation. Once the fermentation has stopped
Potassium Sorbate can be added to prevent the fermentation from
restarting. Potassium Sorbate works by preventing the yeast from
multiplying. The addition of Potassium Metabisufite in conjunction
with Potassium Sorbate at this time is required to prevent a
subsequent Malo Lactic fermentation which could result in
producing a geranium odor.
Sweetening to Taste:
A few days before bottling, the wine should be racked into a clean
carboy to which has been added the equivalent of 50 ppm SO2
(1/16 tsp Metabisulfite for each gallon of wine) and 1/4 tsp
Potassium Sorbate for each gallon of wine, each first dissolved in a
small amount of warm water.
After two days, sweeten the wine to taste by using a small amount of
sugar syrup. Make the sugar syrup by dissolving 2 cups of cane
sugar in 1 cup hot (boiling) water. Then raise the sugar content of
the wine in 0.5% increments by adding about 1/8 cup of the above
sugar syrup for each gallon of wine. Mix well and taste after each
addition. Once thoroughly mixed, the wine can then be bottled.
(1% sugar solution = 1/8 lb sugar/gal = 0.28 cups granulated
sugar/gal = 1/4 cup of above syrup.) To bypass the many possible
iterations with large volumes, a small sample can be worked on first
and then scaled (multiplied) up to the larger volume.
Sweet Reserve:
In place of adding sugar or sugar syrup, as above, previously
prepared unfermented juice can be added to not only increase the
sweetness, but provide additional flavor or fruitiness. In this case a
portion of the original juice is set aside by adding 200 ppm SO2.
This treated juice is held in a glass jug with an air lock and placed in
a refrigerator. The juice is allowed to settle out and racked for
clarity a few times before using. At bottling add, to taste, the treated
juice to the batch of wine to be sweetened, then bottle with the
usual dose of 50 ppm SO2 per gallon and 1/4 tsp Potassium
Sorbate per gallon. (One gallon of juice with 22% sugar added to
five gallons of dry wine will give a mixture with 3.5% sugar.)
Wine with Natural Residual Sugar:
Many times a wine will stop fermenting with some residual sugar. If
ignored, the chances are good that fermentation will start up in a
bottle with sometimes dangerous results. To avoid this add the
Potassium Sorbate (1/4 tsp/gal) and the Potassium Metabisulfite
(1/16 tsp/gal) at the last racking and bottle after a few days.
Stopping an Ongoing Fermentation:
Yeast will not function at extremely low temperatures, therefore one
method of stopping the fermentation is to lower the temperature to
as low a value as possible preferably 28 deg F, adding 100 ppm
SO2 and holding the wine at that temperature for several months.
During this period the wine should be racked at least twice to
remove the dormant yeast that has settled to the bottom. The wine
should then be treated with Potassium Sorbate (1/4 tsp/gal) and
potassium Metabisulfite (1/16/gal) at the last racking, and then
bottled after a few days.
Shortcut:
If the wine is not to be given away, the wine can be sweetened at
the time of opening by adding a known amount of cane sugar to the
individual bottle and mixing. The wine should be used that day
before fermentation can start up. The use of Domino Superfine
Instant Dissolving Sugar, or equivalent, will reduce the amount of
mixing required.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
