tonyhibbett
Landlord.
I originally assumed these to be sugar but are in fact tartrate salts. In cold storage conditions, these salts form from the tartaric acid in the grape concentrate and the acidity is reduced. They have no taste, colour or smell but are best removed as they may form again in the finished wine, particularly when chilled. Their Definitive range (labelled 'grape juice compound') also contains an unspecified amount of glucose syrup which apparantly contains some unfermentable sugars, so you cannot get a truly dry wine. The gjc itself, produced in Spain, has a brix rating of 60 (60g sugar per 100 ml) so when reconstituted with water at the normal rate of 1:3 would produce a wine of 9% abv., hence the need for the glucose syrup and extra sugar required. The net content is 900g., 700 ml by volume. Assuming 20% glucose syrup (my guess) this amounts to 560 ml of pure gjc. Reconstituted, this would give 2.240 litres of grape juice, or half a gallon. The rest of your gallon of wine is made up of glucose syrup, water and sugar (the latter not included, nor indeed yeast, finings, etc.). You can get pure grape juice for less than £1 a litre (Aldi 85p). It won't give you a great wine, but then neither will the Definitive compound, at greater cost.
Their Wine Enhancer is pure grape, but also has these crystals. Both products are sold in metal cans with no packaging and are therefore more likely to be affected by cold, hence the crystals.
Their Wine Enhancer is pure grape, but also has these crystals. Both products are sold in metal cans with no packaging and are therefore more likely to be affected by cold, hence the crystals.
