On Jun 28, 1:17*pm, Douglas Hudson > wrote:
> While it is fun to make wine out of local grapes, Concord grapes will
> not make a wine much like what you find in the store. *In most cases,
> when working with native or cold-hardy grape varieties, you may need
> to add sugar. *You don't indicate what the starting SG was, or if you
> added sugar. *Hopefully you are OK on that front.
>
> A TA reading of .973% (or nearly 10g / liter) is fairly high. *Some
> sugar should help balance the acidity. *It probably won't change the
> bitterness much. *If the bitterness is caused by tannins, there are
> things you could do to reduce that (e.g., fining with a little egg
> white). *If it is caused by other factors, there may not be much you
> can do. *There isn't a lot you can do if the wine is too thin. *Next
> time, try not to add much (if any) water. *One thing that might help
> would be to get some dried elderberries and add them to the wine for a
> few weeks. *They can add some interesting flavors, which may reduce
> the "thin" perception. *You could also look at some of the processed
> yeast products like Bio-lees or "Sur Lie", as they can add a bit of
> body or "mouth-feel".
>
> I think I'd skip the malo-lactic with this batch (I don't think it
> would fit well with the Concord flavor profile), just add sulfite and
> potassium sorbate to prevent renewed fermentation, then sweeten a bit
> to take the edge off the acidity. *A small addition of sugar will not
> come across as sweet, but will reduce the perceived acidity. *Larger
> sugar additions will produce a wine that will taste sweet. *Do some
> "bench trials" -- small samples (maybe a few ounces at a time) with
> measured amounts of sugar, to see what effect it has on the wine. *You
> may find a particular level of sweetness that appeals most to you. *Or
> you could choose to bottle some with little or no sugar, and some with
> more sugar, for different occasions or preferences.
>
> It sounds like a little tweaking should result in a pretty pleasant
> wine. *Best of luck, and happy fermenting.
>
> * * * Doug

Doug, thanks for your response.
I think adding a little sugar is probably the way to go. (or I was
thinking of mixing in a little sweet concord grape juice).

The SG seemed okay - I added sugar at the beginning, got SG 1.090 and
it dropped to about .995 (if I remember the numbers correctly). If
you wouldn't mind answering a few follow up questions, I would really
appreciate it:

- in general, after secondary fermentation is done, is it customary to
add more potassium metabisulfite? (I have another batch of wine made
from Syrah grapes which I didn't add more sulfite to after secondary
was done). (I thought once the alchohol had reached about 12% you
didn't need to worry about that).

- if I want to try again to make wine from the Concord grapes, is
there anything that can be done at the beginning of the process to
bring the acidity to a lower level? I think the recipe says add
water, but wouldn't that make the wine too watery?

Thanks again for your guidance and suggestions!

Regards,
Sam