Sweetening

[Boo]

Ok, so I have made a wine from fresh fruit, I have let it ferment out to dry, after tasting it I think I would prefer it a little sweeter.

What is the best method for sweetening?

These are the options that I am aware of.-

-Add natural sugar and stabiliser.
Do I add neat sugar or should I add it to a little water?

-Add an artificial sweetener.
What is the best artificial sweetener to use?
If I use an Art-Swt I guess I will not require a stabiliser becuse it will not ferment?

-Any other?

Any tips would be appreciated

[lockwood1956]

Add fruit juice.....

preferably the same type of juice as the fruit you made the wine out of, or one that will complement it.

Stabilise the wine first of course.

regards
Bob

[Dead Squirrel Running]

What is the best method for sweetening?

These are the options that I am aware of.-

-Add natural sugar and stabiliser.
Do I add neat sugar or should I add it to a little water?

-Add an artificial sweetener.
What is the best artificial sweetener to use?
If I use an Art-Swt I guess I will not require a stabiliser becuse it will not ferment?

-Any other?

Any tips would be appreciated

If you go with sugar, bring it near a boil to dissolve. I never thought of an artificial sweetener. I'm sure some trade name would be available on the Isle, but I use a product called Clear Stevin which is a natural extract about a drop or two in my green tea that makes it sweet. Personally I would not use an artificial sweetener.

The old adage is of course sweeten to taste and that's not easy. That's one of the reason I use sugar, as there are some accurate guideline measurements to get you close, but always add less than you've calculated.

Since I've never used juice to sweeten I have to defer to Sir Bobbly Robert, but I would think more liquid might be needed which would/could enhance the flavor, but also cut the alcohol level. I wonder too if it shouldn't be brought to near boil?

[DAVID]

For me, I would use Grape Concentrate, not grape juice. Not only will it add some sweetness but also will give the wine more vinosity and mouthfeel. So it gets my vote for sweetening up.

[Hippie]

I like using white grape concentrate. Adds a good flavor and also body and tartaric acid. If you have made the wine to 12-13%, diluting it maybe 1% won't hurt. I use 1-11.5 ounce can to each gallon finished and stable wine.

[Boo]

David / Hippie-
I have already added a 8oz RWC or WWC, I always add this at the beggining to all my recipes.

If I add another it may have a negative effect of the wine flavour, not to mention the cost at almost £2 a can!

[Hippie]

OK,right, but all the sugar from that has been fermented and converted to alcohol. Sweetening is done after the wine is clear and stable and before bulk aging. I am getting confused.

[Boo]

OK,right, but all the sugar from that has been fermented and converted to alcohol. Sweetening is done after the wine is clear and stable and before bulk aging. I am getting confused.

Yes, i understand that, I guess what I am saying is I dont think adding two cans of RWC / WWC to a gallon is a good idea, regardless of the sweetening issue. Cost being the main factor, thats £4 worth of ingredients in just those two components.

I think adding the concentrate at the end if you didnt already add it at the beggining is a good idea, one I had not thought of before. If it is already in there I would prefer a cheaper option such as suger/syrup/juice for sweetening at the end of fermentation.

[Hippie]

If you want to sweeten with sugar syrup, that's fine, I do it all the time. I heat equal parts sugar and water just enough to dissolve clear. Use a measured amount until the wine is almost as sweet as you like, then stop and note how much you used per volume of wine in your notes. i.e.-1/4 cup 50% sugar syrup per gallon of wine or 100 ml 50% sugar syrup per liter of wine, etc.

Better?

[Dead Squirrel Running]

I think there are charts available or formulae, but it really doesn't matter if you follow Hippie's suggestion. I might add to take in to consideration the acidity when you taste, as high acid levels might work better with higher levels of residual sugar. Looking back at some notes on a wine I called Ancient Wine, ta da, with spices, I did add frozen orange juice, after fermentation and it worked nicely - 1 can in 5 US gals.

[Boo]

Thanks for the advice guys.

My Apricot wine has now been stabilised & sweetened and has been tucked away for maturing / clearing.

One thing about this particular wine that surprised me was the speed of which it fermented out, from start to finish in 8 days, none of my previous wines finished this quick. Start SG around 1080, finish .90, sweetened up to just over 1.

My strawberry wine is still fermenting and I started it 4 days before the apricot!

[Hippie]

I know you meant .990 on that ending SG!

[Boo]

I know you meant .990 on that ending SG!

But of course,

BTW- I used sugar disolved in water for the sweetening.

[chadspad]

Hi guys, Im still confused on this sweetening thing. I have 1 gallon of elderberry that I have stabilised, added pot. sorb and now need to sweeten. If I pour some into a jug, say 1/2 litre, add a measured amount of sugar and keep tasting like that, then I just multipy it for the overall amount, is that right? I quite like the idea of adding fruit juice instead - perhaps apple would go weel with elderberry? - but would I just pour in a whole lot or measure it with the same principal? Thanks Wendy

[lockwood1956]

Tip for sugar syrup (measurements are UK imperial)

Add 2 lbs of sugar to 1 pint of water, bring to the boil briefly so that it goes completely clear. As 2 lb of sugar takes up the same volume as 1 pint of water you now have two pints of syrup that contains 1lb of sugar per pint.

Handy when you need to add a specific amount of weight of sugar.

but you could also add it a little at a time and stir it in gently, rather than trying to dissolve sugar in dark coloured wine (It's hard to tell if it's dissolved properly or not)

hope this helps
Regards
Bob