Germanic / Hock Wine Yeast

[dmrevis]

Am i correct in presuming this will make a medium to sweet wine given its name? I prefer wine that is not too dry so if this is the case it will be perfect for me.

 

[tubby_shaw]

I don't think it is quite that simple :hmm:
I believe it is the way in which the grapes are treated prior to pressing that give German wines their distinctive characteristics. I also remember reading that unless a wine is drunk extremely young it is very difficult to determine the type of yeast used.
For our amateur needs the best ways to produce a residual sweetness is to either halt fermentation at a set gravity, or to let the wine ferment to dryness, clear and stabilise it and then add a sugar (unfermented grape juice?) before bottling.
Some of the more prolific winemakers may have some better ideas though :)

 

[Aleman]

I'm with TS on this one . . . most wine yeasts will happily chew their way through all the sugar in a must, producing a dry wine . .. to produce a 'sweeter' wine you either add more sugar . . . which will ruin a light style like a hock, Mosel etc, or you allow it to complete, and then add an appropriate amount of sweetener . . . probably to taste.

The difficulty we have is that of using unfermented grape juice or other sugars is that we cannot get all the yeast out of our wine . . and it will continue to ferment . . .even in the presence of Campden tablets . . .potassium sorbate may work . . . but you don't want to find out that it doesn't the hard way . . . I lost 12 bottles of light red wine to this . . . and I had laid them down . . . in a cupboard draw . . . over the wedding presents . . . and went away for a 5 week holiday . . . Mud that's my name.

Personally I like my Hocks to be really fruity and dry so the complete fermentation of yeast suits me down to the ground . . . another alternative would be to ferment to completion . .. then add a small qty of grape juice to the bottle when you open it.

 

[dmrevis]

Thanks for the info. I'm new to all this - i've just done my first cider but want to get some wine on the go as it takes so much longer to mature and become drinkable. I think i may go for the option of fermenting all the way then adding sweetener and bottling. would this work?