I have 6 to 7 gallons of blackberry wine that I have just racked the second
time. I was going to bottle it in a couple of months. Wow is it dry!!
Will it sweeten up if I add sugar ...or corn syrup?
I hate to dump it but I'm not sure it's drinkable this dry.
It has stopped completely. ( I think ).

Please don't toss it. If you don't like it that dry (which I don't either),
you can sweeten by adding sugar, but you must also add a wine stabilizer
like sorbate or sodium benzoate to make sure you don't end up with bottle
bombs. Once you add the sugar it could start to ferment again, that's why
you need the stabilizer. You might try some bench tests to see how much you
need to sweeten so that you like it. For me, I usually add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of
sugar per gallon.
Darlene


"Ron Bohart" > wrote in message
...
>I have 6 to 7 gallons of blackberry wine that I have just racked the second
>time. I was going to bottle it in a couple of months. Wow is it dry!!
> Will it sweeten up if I add sugar ...or corn syrup?
> I hate to dump it but I'm not sure it's drinkable this dry.
> It has stopped completely. ( I think ).
>
>
>

How much difference in taste would there be if the sugar was stirred in
after opening the bottle just before drinking as opposed to adding it
sometime before bottling?

Dar V wrote:
> Please don't toss it. If you don't like it that dry (which I don't either),
> you can sweeten by adding sugar, but you must also add a wine stabilizer
> like sorbate or sodium benzoate to make sure you don't end up with bottle
> bombs. Once you add the sugar it could start to ferment again, that's why
> you need the stabilizer. You might try some bench tests to see how much you
> need to sweeten so that you like it. For me, I usually add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of
> sugar per gallon.
> Darlene

i sweetened a gallon out of my blackberry , it made it taste
better ,being so young, just add stabilizer first, then 1/4 to 1/2 pound
of sugar per gallon. cook the sugar in a little water to aid in mixing
with the wine. i think i went with 1/4 pound of sugar, it just knocked
the edge off so we could drink it sooner... wine dont get good till 6-8
months after bottleing. lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

In message >, Ron Bohart
> writes
>I have 6 to 7 gallons of blackberry wine that I have just racked the
>second time. I was going to bottle it in a couple of months. Wow is it
>dry!! Will it sweeten up if I add sugar ...or corn syrup? I hate to dump
>it but I'm not sure it's drinkable this dry. It has stopped completely. (
>I think ).

You've got good advice on sweetening from the other posters, and you'll
find if you do sweeten the blackberry flavour really comes alive. But
I'd be tempted to hang on for a while yet - like another 9 months, maybe
more.

Rack it again, now, to get it off the last of the lees, make sure the
containers are filled to leave as little airspace as possible, and refit
the airlocks. Maybe sweeten the contents of one demi-john and bottle it
(or how about bottling it dry, and only sweetening when you come to
drink it - that way you can experiment with adding as much or as little
sugar as you please - some of your friends might prefer it dry - and you
don't have the risk of fermentation starting again).

If you can spare the other carboys, leave them another 6 or even 12
months - you'll probably be surprised to find that a lot of the harsh
tannin flavour has mellowed, and much more of the original fruit flavour
shows. You might find that if you do sweeten then, you need to add a lot
less sugar to make it palatable than you would in sweetening now.

And don't forget to keep it in the dark, or that lovely ruby colour will
fade!

cheers,
robin

--
www.newforestartgallery.co.uk
www.badminston.demon.co.uk www.robinsomes.co.uk
www.robinsomes.co.uk/oz www.robinsomes.co.uk/greece03
Trust me, I'm a webmaster...

I agree with those above and with Robin on waiting. I have made blackberry
and dewberry wine several times and it always makes VERY dry. Often below
0.990. I like it that way but can see that others may not. It certainly
can be sweetened to taste but it is easier to sweeten to taste after the
taste settles down. i.e. it has aged.

If you sweeten it, you might consider using a good honey rather than sugar.
I can add a bit of complexity to the wine. Also, after you sweeten it, put
it back in carboy for a couple of months and then try it again. If find
that a few months after I sweeten a wine, it does not taste as sweet as I
thought. The sweetness needs to blend with the rest of the wine to get the
true result.

Ray

"Robin Somes" > wrote in message
...
> In message >, Ron Bohart
> > writes
>>I have 6 to 7 gallons of blackberry wine that I have just racked the
>>second time. I was going to bottle it in a couple of months. Wow is it
>>dry!! Will it sweeten up if I add sugar ...or corn syrup? I hate to dump
>>it but I'm not sure it's drinkable this dry. It has stopped completely. (
>>I think ).
>
> You've got good advice on sweetening from the other posters, and you'll
> find if you do sweeten the blackberry flavour really comes alive. But
> I'd be tempted to hang on for a while yet - like another 9 months, maybe
> more.
>
> Rack it again, now, to get it off the last of the lees, make sure the
> containers are filled to leave as little airspace as possible, and refit
> the airlocks. Maybe sweeten the contents of one demi-john and bottle it
> (or how about bottling it dry, and only sweetening when you come to
> drink it - that way you can experiment with adding as much or as little
> sugar as you please - some of your friends might prefer it dry - and you
> don't have the risk of fermentation starting again).
>
> If you can spare the other carboys, leave them another 6 or even 12
> months - you'll probably be surprised to find that a lot of the harsh
> tannin flavour has mellowed, and much more of the original fruit flavour
> shows. You might find that if you do sweeten then, you need to add a lot
> less sugar to make it palatable than you would in sweetening now.
>
> And don't forget to keep it in the dark, or that lovely ruby colour will
> fade!
>
> cheers,
> robin
>
> --
> www.newforestartgallery.co.uk
> www.badminston.demon.co.uk www.robinsomes.co.uk
> www.robinsomes.co.uk/oz
> www.robinsomes.co.uk/greece03
> Trust me, I'm a webmaster...

Thanks for the all the good advice, I'll try it and give you all an update
later.

"Ron Bohart" > wrote in message
...
>I have 6 to 7 gallons of blackberry wine that I have just racked the second
>time. I was going to bottle it in a couple of months. Wow is it dry!!
> Will it sweeten up if I add sugar ...or corn syrup?
> I hate to dump it but I'm not sure it's drinkable this dry.
> It has stopped completely. ( I think ).
>
>
>