Mike,
I am somewhat of a minimalist in winemaking, in that if it was too much
work, I would find a different hobby that was more fun. So my approach tends
to minimize the work involved. :-) I do not measure SG. However, I do use a
rule of thumb to calculate the total amount of sugar I need to add to a
batch to get an alcohol content that is in the normal ballpark for most
wines (e.g. 9-11%). Since each batch I make is only four liters, if I screw
something up, it is not a major disaster.
Most of the wine I make is done using frozen juice concentrates from the
grocery store. (I know -- many readers are now cringing in shock and
horror....) I find several advantages to this, such as:
-- The juice is already sterilized at the "factory"
-- The pectin has already been "enzymed" because sellers of juice
for drinking at breakfast have just as much motivation to deliver
a sparkling clear product as winemakers do. With no effort on my
part (i.e. no pectic enzyme, no fining) the wine almost always comes
out crystal clear
-- Lots of different juices to choose from, with no special trips to
make or orders to place
-- One can mix and match a few different juices to create even more
different blends
-- The exact sugar content is already conveniently listed on the label
(in grams, no less, which is just what I want)
-- If I want, I can easily make the wine that is even more intense than
100% juice simply by adding more cans of concentrate than needed to
reconstitute it officially to 100% juice
So, I use the rule of thumb that 2g of sugar produces roughly 1g of alcohol,
and one cup of granulated sugar is approximately 200g. In a 4L batch, then,
each 80g of sugar will produce roughly 1% alcohol (40g) in the final
product. I just add up what's already in the juice (six servings per can
times whatever grams of sugar per serving) and then figure out how much more
sugar to add to get a final alcohol level that is in the ballpark.
For a "100% juice" wine, I use three cans of frozen concentrate per 4L
batch. (This is actually slightly less diluted, i.e. slightly juicier, than
it should be for official reconstitution, as 4L will not quite hold 9 cans
of water on top of the 3 cans of juice.) For something heavier, you can use
four or five cans of concentrate and less added sugar (though with five you
have to make sure it's not a juice that already has a very high sugar
content or you might end up with too much sugar). For something lighter,
just use two cans and more added sugar.
How juicy the final product tastes is largely determined by how long it is
aged. The longer the aging, the more like wine and the less like fruit juice
it tastes. For example, after about a year of aging, a wine made from
Welch's White Grape Peach concentrate (which also contains apple juice)
tastes pretty much like a regular white grape wine, but with a faint hint of
peach in the background that you wouldn't have in a pure grape wine.
If you are a connoisseur attempting to hit a very specific flavor, acidity,
alcohol content, etc. in the end product, obviously my approach would not be
for you. But if you are more interested in having fun while discovering new
flavors and making wines that are all perfectly drinkable, though not 100%
predictable, which is where I'm coming from, then perhaps you might give it
a try. Total effort per batch for me is probably less than an hour of labor
from beginning to end. (I ferment it in the 4L jug, rack into other 4L jugs,
and just call the final racking my "bottling" -- no corking to mess with. It
just stays in the 4L jug.)
Aging is the real key. Drink one of these wines before its time and it will
be pretty acidic. :-)
Utopia in Decay
http://home.comcast.net/~kevin.cherkauer/site
Kevin
"mhorlick" > wrote in message
...
On Jul 10, 1:00 am, "Kevin Cherkauer" > wrote:
Hello Kevin,
Very interesting. By using 100% juice do you get the SG that you want?
I was thinking that I should get to 1.08-1.10 before adding other
ingredients and then yeast (I'm just going with what I read on the
web).
I haven't tasted anything other than grape wines except for a
blueberry mead and honestly I am not sure I was able to taste the
blueberries in that one. Of course, I am no expert. I would like to
get other opinions on whether using more than the usual 2-4 pounds of
fruit per gallon produces a "better" wine ( a wine that tastes more of
the fruit but not an alcholic fruite juice).
Regards,
Mike