Any advice on making a slightly sweet high alcohol (17%) with out
getting a "stuck "
fermentation ? Should i ferment to dry first with something like
Lavin EC118 then
sweeten later or ......??

thanks

On Apr 8, 3:46*pm, Frederick > wrote:
> Advice on making a slightly sweet high alcohol (17%) *with out
> getting a "stuck ":

Use Lalvin 1116, any "champagne yeast" Lalvin 1118, Red Star premire
cuvee or champagne, or Sherry Flor yeast - these have the ability to
withstand up to 18% alcohol. It is best to "feed" the yeast with a
balanced yeast nutrient up front. Don't put in all the sugar for the
17 or 18% up front. After 4-5 days add some sugar dissolved in a small
amount of water. Also add additional yeast nutrient (proportional to
the amount of sugar or up to half what you added initially) and stir
well. This is still in the aerobic phase. After about 3 days, test
the wine (I'd use a vinometer to determine the alcohol) and TASTE it.
If not at the % alcohol you want, Add the remaining sugar, some
additional yeast nutrient, and stir again. Allow to ferment out
fully - another 3-7 days. Test and Taste again. You may want to add
the sugar to sweeten it when you achieve your Strain and move to the
carboy. After 18-19% alcohol, you'll kill the yeast. Let the wine
process in the carboy for a while. 2-3 months before bottling. Be
sure there is no pressue in the airlock when you decide to bottle.

Jack Keller's suggestions for making a port are right on. It's called
syrup feeding. Here's the link:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques13.asp


Steve



On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 15:46:13 -0700 (PDT), Frederick
> wrote:

>Any advice on making a slightly sweet high alcohol (17%) with out
>getting a "stuck "
>fermentation ? Should i ferment to dry first with something like
>Lavin EC118 then
>sweeten later or ......??
>
>thanks

I've made both peach & pear wines to 15+% in the past. Having bought too
much sugar for the resulting amounts of harvested fruits, we just dumped in
all the sugar and followed Keller's recipes regarding nutrients
etc anyway. The EC 1118 proved to be a mighty work horse! It never
stalled,kept working away until it exhausted itself. We did nothing more
than follow the recipe and it kept chugging along, a happy colony of yeastie
beasties partying towards yeast valhallah! The resulting products ranged
from a hint of sweetness to a dessert-like quality. And we never got any
bottle grenades...yet.


"Frederick" > wrote in message
...
> Any advice on making a slightly sweet high alcohol (17%) with out
> getting a "stuck "
> fermentation ? Should i ferment to dry first with something like
> Lavin EC118 then
> sweeten later or ......??
>
> thanks

On Apr 9, 8:46*am, Frederick > wrote:
> Any advice on making a slightly sweet high alcohol (17%) *with out
> getting a "stuck "
> fermentation ? *Should i ferment to dry first with something like
> Lavin EC118 then
> sweeten later or ......??
>
> thanks

I've never made this style of wine, however this is my understanding
of how the excellent sweet wines of Rutherglen in Australia are made:
The wine is fermented as normal, but when it reaches a certain stage -
well before it ferments to dry - brandy spirit is added. This
increases the alcohol and stops the ferment by killing the yeast. No
sugar is added or required as the sweetness of the grapes is retained
(residual sugar from the fruit has not been fermented to dry). I
believe this is the method by which traditional Port wines are made,
too. A good book that contains detailed instructions of this approach
is: Making Good Wine by Bryce Rankine.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out! You may insprie me to try
it myself next vintage.