I thought I read somewhere that honey is a good sweetener for German
white wines (Rieslings, Liebfruamilch, etc.). I have search the group
postings and scaned various books that I have without luck of finding
much on this topic.

I'm more interested in using honey as a sweetener prior to bottling
(rather than as a sweetener of the pre-fermentation must). I'm looking
to get an s.g. .990 up to about s.g. 1.005 similar to a Kabinett with
some bottles possibly up to s.g. 1.015 similar to a Spatlese.

Are there any special tricks or mixes, or does one simply add it in
lieu of 2:1 sugar syrup? Is this really better than a plain sugar
syrup?

Thanks for your feedback!

Roger L. Pelletier

Roger --
I can't give you much feedback on the relative merits of honey and
table sugar for sweetening this kind of wine; I either use the juice
reserve pack (if making a kit) or table sugar. One caveat for using
honey: even if it looks nice and clear, it may introduce some haziness
into the wine. I've had this happen to me; I added some honey and
sorbate to a dry mead just before bottling. It looked OK initially,
but every bottle ended up with some sort of sediment in it, from the
honey.

That's not to say it's a bad idea, just that if you do use honey
as a sweetener before bottling, allow at least a couple of weeks for
any non-soluble stuff in the honey to settle out, before you bottle.


Doug

Thanks Doug...

I think I'll still try honey on a small portion, maybe a gallon or so
and let it settle like you suggested. Then I can compare these 5
bottles to the others.

Roger L. Pelletier, Aurora, NE USA

There is nothing wrong with using honey. You will run into many references
to "Honied Wine" in old literature back to Roman times. Honey will add a
slight aroma and a hint of the taste of the honey you use so pick your
honey. It is not just a sweetener.

But, be aware that it could cause cloudiness that will need to be cleared
(so do not bottle immediately) and your wine should be stabilized after
adding it. (As you would with sugar) Either with sorbate and sulphite or
some other method. Do try an experimental gallon and see how you like it.

Ray

"Wino-Nouveau" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I thought I read somewhere that honey is a good sweetener for German
> white wines (Rieslings, Liebfruamilch, etc.). I have search the group
> postings and scaned various books that I have without luck of finding
> much on this topic.
>
> I'm more interested in using honey as a sweetener prior to bottling
> (rather than as a sweetener of the pre-fermentation must). I'm looking
> to get an s.g. .990 up to about s.g. 1.005 similar to a Kabinett with
> some bottles possibly up to s.g. 1.015 similar to a Spatlese.
>
> Are there any special tricks or mixes, or does one simply add it in
> lieu of 2:1 sugar syrup? Is this really better than a plain sugar
> syrup?
>
> Thanks for your feedback!
>
> Roger L. Pelletier
>

Thanks for the response Ray. I was worried that I was trying something
new or radical but with that long of a history I feel much better.
Can't wait to see how they turn out!

"Wino-Nouveau" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I thought I read somewhere that honey is a good sweetener for German
> white wines (Rieslings, Liebfruamilch, etc.). I have search the group
> postings and scaned various books that I have without luck of finding
> much on this topic.
>

I would have thought the type of honey would make a difference too. There
are as many different honey types as wine. Bees that collect from Rape Seed
for example can produce a very granulated hard honey that would introduce a
haze I would guess and a different taste than other types.

Tony

"Tony" > wrote in message
...
> "Wino-Nouveau" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>>I thought I read somewhere that honey is a good sweetener for German
>> white wines (Rieslings, Liebfruamilch, etc.). I have search the group
>> postings and scaned various books that I have without luck of finding
>> much on this topic.
>>
>
> I would have thought the type of honey would make a difference too. There
> are as many different honey types as wine. Bees that collect from Rape
> Seed for example can produce a very granulated hard honey that would
> introduce a haze I would guess and a different taste than other types.
>
> Tony
>
>
>

You are correct, different honey will impart different tastes. Anything
from a Sue Bee industrial filtered honey where there is no taste left to a
raw buckwheat honey which most people would not eat on a dare.

I had a Niagara wine made from Welch's frozen concentrate that came out very
dry and not particularly remarkable though it had no major flaws. I also
had a Huajillo Mead (Huajillo is a fantastic tasting honey from the American
SW) that came out with good flavor but somehow stopped a bit sweeter than I
wanted (SGfinal = 1.009). The Niagara is probably about 12.5% alcohol while
the Mead is about 11.5%. I blended 1.5 gallons of the mead with 5 gallons
of the Niagara and it came out really nice. Slightly sweet with enough acid
to make it interesting. Bottled it this last weekend. I started them in
March and April and I am not sure how much older they are going to get.

Ray