I was just thinking of ways to make sulphite-free wines. A usual way is
sterilization by boiling the must.

But since alcohol is a preservative, wouldn't it be possible to infuse a
going batch with additional juice. For example, if a 15% alcohol wine has
10% juice tossed in every time it reaches 15%, wouldn't this make a
preserved wine without cooking and without sulphites?

Has anyone tried this?

Chia Pet,

This is roughly how they make Port wine, except that they add high proof
alcohol to partially fermented wine to "preserve" it.
There are still two things to keep in mind: 1) Oxygen and/or elevated
temperature will still affect the wine by simply chemical means,
affecting the flavor. 2) Acetobacter, which are everywhere, like
nothing better than turning alcohol into acetic acid, if oxygen is present.
Keeping those things in mind, I'd say "try it". I've never heard of
quite this technique, and you might work something out.
BTW, wines produce a certain small amount of sulfites during
fermentation, so your wines would never be quite free of them.

HTH, Mike MTM

On 11/30/03 12:29 AM, in article ,
"Chia Pet" <Chia > wrote:

> I was just thinking of ways to make sulphite-free wines. A usual way is
> sterilization by boiling the must.
>
> But since alcohol is a preservative, wouldn't it be possible to infuse a
> going batch with additional juice. For example, if a 15% alcohol wine has
> 10% juice tossed in every time it reaches 15%, wouldn't this make a
> preserved wine without cooking and without sulphites?
>
> Has anyone tried this?
>
>

Perhaps I'm a bit confused by your post. How does adding juice preserve your
wine? I don't see any way that added juice or high alcohol will prevent
oxidation.

All you will do is add more sugar which will start to ferment again until
you reach the limit of the yeast. That may be as high as 18-19%.

Could you clarify more what it is you are trying to accomplish?

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine

(remove spamblocker from my email)

"Greg Cook" > wrote in message
...
> On 11/30/03 12:29 AM, in article
,
> "Chia Pet" <Chia > wrote:
>
> > I was just thinking of ways to make sulphite-free wines. A usual way is
> > sterilization by boiling the must.
> >
> > But since alcohol is a preservative, wouldn't it be possible to infuse a
> > going batch with additional juice. For example, if a 15% alcohol wine
has
> > 10% juice tossed in every time it reaches 15%, wouldn't this make a
> > preserved wine without cooking and without sulphites?
> >
> > Has anyone tried this?
> >
> >
>
> Perhaps I'm a bit confused by your post. How does adding juice preserve
your
> wine? I don't see any way that added juice or high alcohol will prevent
> oxidation.
Not oxidation, but infection by unwanted lifeforms.
>
> All you will do is add more sugar which will start to ferment again until
> you reach the limit of the yeast. That may be as high as 18-19%.
>
No, the juice would contain other ingredients, just like the original must.

> Could you clarify more what it is you are trying to accomplish?
>
Making wine without boiling or campden tablets.

> --
> Greg Cook
> http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine
>
> (remove spamblocker from my email)
>

Chia Pet wrote:

> Making wine without boiling or campden tablets.

Why?

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

On 11/30/03 10:19 PM, in article ,
"Chia Pet" <Chia > wrote:

>
> "Greg Cook" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 11/30/03 12:29 AM, in article
> ,
>> "Chia Pet" <Chia > wrote:
>>
>>> I was just thinking of ways to make sulphite-free wines. A usual way is
>>> sterilization by boiling the must.
>>>
>>> But since alcohol is a preservative, wouldn't it be possible to infuse a
>>> going batch with additional juice. For example, if a 15% alcohol wine
> has
>>> 10% juice tossed in every time it reaches 15%, wouldn't this make a
>>> preserved wine without cooking and without sulphites?
>>>
>>> Has anyone tried this?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Perhaps I'm a bit confused by your post. How does adding juice preserve
> your
>> wine? I don't see any way that added juice or high alcohol will prevent
>> oxidation.
> Not oxidation, but infection by unwanted lifeforms.
>>
>> All you will do is add more sugar which will start to ferment again until
>> you reach the limit of the yeast. That may be as high as 18-19%.
>>
> No, the juice would contain other ingredients, just like the original must.
>
>> Could you clarify more what it is you are trying to accomplish?
>>
> Making wine without boiling or campden tablets.
>


Hmm, again, I'm not sure what you want. If you just want to make wine
without suflites, then make it. You should not need to worry about nasty
things growing in it if your alcohol level is above 10% and it has enough
acid. Nothing that can harm humans will grow in wine. It is a preservative
itself. Note that without sulfites, it will oxidize more readily and may not
last as long, but many people make perfectly fine wines without sulfite.
What do you hope to accomplish by adding more juice? If you do, it will
begin to ferment again. If your goal is to make a wine that is not dry
(sweeter) then you will have to bring your alcohol level up to a point that
the yeast will not live (>16% usually) or use potassium sorbate and
bisulfite to inhibit fermentation.

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine

(remove spamblocker from my email)

I think you are confused about the process of making wine. Yes, alcohol
will kill germs. No pathogen will live in wine. But that is not what the
sulfite is protecting the wine from. In the beginning sulfite will inhibit
wild yeast. Later, the sulfite protects wine from oxidation which happens
when wine comes in contact with air. The low levels of sulfite normally
added to wine will give wine enough protection to survive the air that gets
to it during the making, handling, testing, and aging process. Without it,
wine will eventually oxidize. This does not make the wine unhealthy such
that it will make you sick. It just makes the wine taste bad. If you are
not sure what oxidation means, pour a glass of red wine in a blender and
blend a bit of air into it. Then pour it into a clean, empty wine bottle so
that it is less than half full, cover it to keep the bugs out, and leave it
on the counter for a few days so the oxygen in the air has a chance to
displace any sulfite that is in the wine and chemically mix with the wine.
Then taste it. You will understand what oxidize means. If a wine
completely oxidizes it will turn brown and loose all of it's character.

Without sulfite wine will not keep well during aging. It will probably
reach it's peak within a year and will start deteriorating in 2. No chance
of aging to 5 years or more.

Ray

"Chia Pet" <Chia > wrote in message
...
> I was just thinking of ways to make sulphite-free wines. A usual way is
> sterilization by boiling the must.
>
> But since alcohol is a preservative, wouldn't it be possible to infuse a
> going batch with additional juice. For example, if a 15% alcohol wine has
> 10% juice tossed in every time it reaches 15%, wouldn't this make a
> preserved wine without cooking and without sulphites?
>
> Has anyone tried this?
>
>
>