First WOW some questions :)

[aamcle]

I have

2 x 1litre Welches Purple grape juice
1.4 litre pressed Apple juice and the usual chemicals and yeast.

When I went to the Homebrew shop to buy the yeast (WineLoft StHelens very good) the owner recommended adding some sultanas or bananas to give the wine some body.

I'm aiming for 6litre so I'll have a little extra for topping up and I think I have enough ingredients for the volume.

How does this look :-

2litre grape juice
1.4 litre Apple juice
500g sultanas chopped and in a loose mesh bag.
1 Camden tablet.
1tsp tannin
1tsp Pectic enzyme
1tsp yeast nutrient
Yeast.

To get to about 12% ABV how much sugar am I going to need?
May I add the pectolase at the same time as the Camden tablet?
Do members here prefer a yeast starter or just sprinkle the yeast on top?
After adding the yeast should I airate the must?

Thanks All aamcle

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Why not try it without the sultanas to see how a base juice wine turns out so you have something to measure future experiments against.
I have never added anything extra to my juice wines and they have all been fine.

 

[aamcle]

Cause I don't want wine thats so thin it has to run around in the shower to get wet?

Really though, you have made a lot of these wines and if you think they have enough body I'll leave out the addition.
Do I need to add acid blend?

 

[MmmBeer]

For a 6 litre batch, 1350g total sugar will give about 12%, this includes the sugar in the juices you are using, so subtract the combined sugar quantity for these from 1350 to give the amount of additional sugar needed.
Pectolase gets added at the start of fermentation to break down the pectins in the juice which helps to improve wine clarity. The breakdown products may actually be fermentable. I have only ever added a campden tablet when racking.
I have always just used the dried wine yeast compound (containing nutrients).
It shouldn't be necessary to aerate the must if you are using dried yeast, if you do aerate it, I would have thought before adding the yeast would be preferable.

 

[DavieC]

Hi @aamcle , the campden tab at the beginning would only be for the pressed apple juice to kill off any nasties in it so if you treat the AJ ,leave it 24 hours before mixing with the other ingredients as it will stop fermentation starting. The Wows Ive done turn out excellent , plenty of flavour ,but I would say they are 'lighter' styles. Ive done the white(very good with concentrated white grape juice and AJ) and Rose' (RGJ and AJ). All the best with it, let us all know how it turns out.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Cause I don't want wine thats so thin it has to run around in the shower to get wet?

Really though, you have made a lot of these wines and if you think they have enough body I'll leave out the addition.
Do I need to add acid blend?

The grape juice is supposed to give enough viscosity to make it feel like wine not alcopop i used to use a teaspoon of clycerine to give mouth feel but as with the citric acid stopped after a while as i couldn't tell the difference, give it a go as is then try adding the extras next time and compare the two.

I stopped adding citric acid years ago as we didn't notice the difference.

 

[aamcle]

It's been in the bottle for some time now, there are no particular faults arising from my process that I have noticed but it's insipid. I wasn't expecting much after all it's just a carton wine but I had hoped for something more flavoursome.

If I bother with wine again I'll buy a quality kit ...

 

[johncrobinson]

Insipid is a fairly common fault. Its normally due to technique.(NOT trying to be "funny")
A well made WOW is anything but insipid.
My own WOWs are made with just juice and no added water
Attention to details such as acid,tannin's etc Are important as well.

My WOWs easily stand favorable comparison to mid priced supermarket wine

I have been making them for about 30yrs long before the term WOW was invented.

Of course it may just be that a quality kit is more suited to your taste,As many are designed to mimic certain commercial wines.

I should also point out supermarket RED grape juice will not on its own make a satisfactory red WOW too much is missing.
All else equal a top of the range red kit IS likely to be better.

 

[kelper]

Cherry juice makes a deep, red wine. Even tart cherry juice makes a good wine. Frozen blackberries are good. I prefer wines at 14% as they have more 'body'. Elderberries, fresh or dried, are a great ingredient and have the tannins.

 

[aamcle]

John, My taste runs to Red wines, Fleurie, Merlot, Primitivo and the like, I didn't really expect carton wine to to be like them.

I used the appropriate amount of tannin but I could still sharpen it up a little with more acid but the depth of flavour sill wouldn't be there. I'm told that it is something to do with fermenting red wine on the grape skins?

If I brew another it will either be a proper country wine, fruit, rhubarb etc or a good red kit.


ATB aamcle

 

[johncrobinson]

Yes fermenting reds on the skins is a vital point
there are also other things like oak to also consider.
As well as PROPER maturation processes.
These are considerations normally beyond the scope of a WOW

I do a lot of country wines myself and agree they can be far superior.I welcome the idea that you are thinking of going down that route,It can be as rewarding as all grain brewing.

 

[DavieC]

Hi @aamcle it could be the pressed apple part of your ingredients needs time to mature. I've only used apple juice from the supermarket in wow's. I use pressed apple juice in the cider I've made and that always tastes better 6months down the line.