adding sugar to wine kits to increase ABV %

[kimosabby]

Quick question on wine expert and generally for wine kits. I’ve done a wine expert California Chardonnay and it’s turned out a great taste. I’ve got an Aussie Reserv on the go. Both about 12-12.5%.
Can you add sugar at the beginning of fermentation in the same way of increasing ABV like with ales?

prefer wines at about 14%; How much is this going to upset the balance of the kit and yeast?
Wine Expert kits are more expensive and I wouldn’t want to blow a whole kit

thanks

Kimosabby

 

[johncrobinson]

Short answer yes you can.
The ABV of a wine is determined by the amount of sugar that the yeast has to eat.
Subject of course to the final alcohol tolerance of the yeast in question.

Taken to extremes and with an appropriate yeast circa 20%abv can be achieved.
It is however far better to add the extra sugar in small doses towards the end of fermentation rather than add it all at once at the beginning,This is known as sugar feeding

Since you are looking for such a modest boost,You might well be better off just making your kit a bit "short" of the full quantity by a few liters.
The reason I say this is because as you increase the alcohol you also decrease the perceived " body" in the wine.In other words too much extra alcohol could leave your wine tasting "watery".
Adding a few liters less water at the start would prevent this from happening.

Good luck.

 

[johncrobinson]

I should add that by boosting the alcohol content by either of the two methods i have suggested will extend the fermentation time,So be sure to allow for extra time in the fermentation.

 

[The Baron]

Spot on advice from John I would brew short so as to not lose body in the wine and get a boost of ABV

 

[kimosabby]

Cheers for that gents; I hadn’t considered the increase in ABV would affect the body. Not a problem brewing short and have done previously with ales. Only point on this is wine expert particularly the reserve are some of the most expensive kits out there so even small reductions will more significantly affect price per bottle.

Forgive my dull maths but if I add a little sugar or brew short what’s the calc I need to do to predict final ABV? I am doing the usual SG and FG readings to get final ABV?

 

[johncrobinson]

If you just brew short the calculations stay exactly the same ie SG-FG.

If you start adding sugar it can get more complex unless you add all the extra sugar in one go at the start,In which case it will still be SG-FG.

To avoid getting into complex maths,You can use as a guide every 50 grams of sugar per liter will raise the abv by around 3%.
So to raise the abv on 25ltrs by 3% you will need one and a quarter kilos of sugar.
And for 20ltrs you need one kilo of sugar.

ANY ADDED SUGAR MUST BE FULLY DISSOLVED AND THOROUGHLY MIXED IN.!!!!!

I did detail the exact methodology on these calculations on another thread about a year ago,
but it can be complex for the non mathematically inclined.
Since you are looking for a circa 3% boost you can use the above approximate guide.

 

[johncrobinson]

I know the "Price per bottle" will go up but I still maintain that brewing short will give the better result.
Important I would of thought since you are using expensive kits to start with.

 

[kimosabby]

thanks for the basic maths; that’s my level

Probably go a little shorter next time with a little bit of added sugar. Having done 2 kits now (one white and one red) I know what the base line strength and taste is

 

[The Baron]

I know the "Price per bottle" will go up but I still maintain that brewing short will give the better result.
Important I would of thought since you are using expensive kits to start with.

So true brewing short is the way and a little sugar if you need that bit more it will give the wine a little more depth of flavour and a worthwhile with a small increase in cost

 

[johncrobinson]

Finally if you do what the baron and I suggest,You could end up with a "keeper" that can be enjoyed as a wine in its own right rather than simple table wine.
It may take a bit longer in storage than is usual to come to its best,But should be worth it.
Good luck.

 

[kimosabby]

Cheers for that; have been very underwhelmed by kit wines but Wine Expert is something for at least the white that I have now found to be as good as what’s commercially available. I got the red on the reserve range in the hope it’s the same as red is far harder to reproduce. It’s in the FV as we speak and smells good

 

[TonyT]

Short answer yes you can.
The ABV of a wine is determined by the amount of sugar that the yeast has to eat.
Subject of course to the final alcohol tolerance of the yeast in question.

Taken to extremes and with an appropriate yeast circa 20%abv can be achieved.
It is however far better to add the extra sugar in small doses towards the end of fermentation rather than add it all at once at the beginning,This is known as sugar feeding

Since you are looking for such a modest boost,You might well be better off just making your kit a bit "short" of the full quantity by a few liters.
The reason I say this is because as you increase the alcohol you also decrease the perceived " body" in the wine.In other words too much extra alcohol could leave your wine tasting "watery".
Adding a few liters less water at the start would prevent this from happening.

Good luck.

Agreed. Just yesterday I bottled a Beaverdale red, which I‘d made a couple of litres short. Couldn’t tell you the FG as I broke my hydrometer. But it tastes a lot better with more body than a similar kit which I’ve made to the full volume in the past.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

Wines by style are generally within a certain ABV range. If you prefer wines within a different ABV range, you may be better off looking for a kit that produces wine of a different ABV.

 

[Stevieboy]

Short answer yes you can.
The ABV of a wine is determined by the amount of sugar that the yeast has to eat.
Subject of course to the final alcohol tolerance of the yeast in question.

Taken to extremes and with an appropriate yeast circa 20%abv can be achieved.
It is however far better to add the extra sugar in small doses towards the end of fermentation rather than add it all at once at the beginning,This is known as sugar feeding

Since you are looking for such a modest boost,You might well be better off just making your kit a bit "short" of the full quantity by a few liters.
The reason I say this is because as you increase the alcohol you also decrease the perceived " body" in the wine.In other words too much extra alcohol could leave your wine tasting "watery".
Adding a few liters less water at the start would prevent this from happening.

Good luck.

One other option - adding grape juice concentrate.

 

[kimosabby]

If adding a bit of extra sugar is it the usual of adding boiling water to sugar then letting cool before adding to the FV?

 

[Stevieboy]

If adding a bit of extra sugar is it the usual of adding boiling water to sugar then letting cool before adding to the FV?

Yes - a little at a a time.