Red Wine Concentrate Substitute

[LED_ZEP]

So there's two threads that crop up regularly on most wine making forums:

1. I can't find any red grape concentrate or red grape juice ( Except the over priced Wilco stuff),
2. Red wine kits lack the body and carictor of shop bought wines.

Well I had the same problems. I was making drinkable reds from cheap thirty bottle kits £20 - £30 or WOW wines that really needed some RGC to lift them to the next level. Neither had that real depth you get from a good shop bought red.

So I was looking for a cheap option to try and circumvent the above issues and I bought a pack of red grape powder of Ebay, £17 for 1Kg. It sat in a box of wine making equipment for about six month as I really wasn't expecting much from it and didn't want to waste time and effort to pour 23l down the drain. When I eventualy got round to making up a batch I thought I'd just use 500g with dextrose and E1118 yeast and a little nutrient. It started at 1.082 and finished 0.993. I did nothing except racking once and adding a two part clearing agent and leaving for a week before bottling. Well to my surprise I got 25 bottles of the best red wine I'd ever made, better than any kit I've made to this point.

That's 25 Bottles for half a pack plus dextrose and yeast.

I've since used it in place of RGC in WOWs and country wines with equally good results. I've just got another batch on go with some added raspberries and blackberries.

If anyone else has used grape powder please comment as I've not seen much written about it anywhere.

Paul.

 

[simon12]

I never heard of it before but thanks for sharing, I assume its this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Grape-Powder-for-Wine-Making-1kg-Red-Rose-White-/282118668001

 

[Chippy_Tea]

1. I can't find any red grape concentrate or red grape juice ( Except the over priced Wilco stuff),

If that had been "I cannot find any white grape juice" i would agree but you can find red grape juice in every big supermarket.

.

 

[xozzx]

Sounds great. Hoping others give similar feedback, gonna give it a shot once I get back onshore. Has anyone tried the white?

 

[LED_ZEP]

I never heard of it before but thanks for sharing, I assume its this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Grape-Powder-for-Wine-Making-1kg-Red-Rose-White-/282118668001

Yes that's the stuff.

 

[LED_ZEP]

If that had been "I cannot find any white grape juice" i would agree but you can find red grape juice in every big supermarket.

.

Yes there's one brand at how much a liter? This makes 23l for £8.50

 

[LED_ZEP]

I've just reread my original post and realised it sounded like an ad. I assure everyone I'm just a home brewer who's wanting to pas on something that has worked for me and have no links to this product (Now if they want to send me some that would be cool!).

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Yes there's one brand at how much a liter? This makes 23l for £8.50

3 for £3, I am not putting this powder down just pointing out that red grape juice unlike white grape juice is readily available.

 

[Bigeck]

I see they do white grape juice powder for the same price. Interesting..........

 

[BeerCat]

Cheers Led very interesting. I would not mind trying using it in a Port amongst other things.

 

[110ben]

This sounds intriguing and my attempts at cheaper red kits were pretty uninspiring. I thought they were more like alcoholic ribena than a red wine. I have since done a £50 winexpert world wines shiraz which was lovely. Do you think adding oak chippings to your base recipe would enhance the wine and can i ask how much fruit you added. I am thinking blackberries....Great info though thanks

 

[LED_ZEP]

This sounds intriguing and my attempts at cheaper red kits were pretty uninspiring. I thought they were more like alcoholic ribena than a red wine. I have since done a ��£50 winexpert world wines shiraz which was lovely. Do you think adding oak chippings to your base recipe would enhance the wine and can i ask how much fruit you added. I am thinking blackberries....Great info though thanks

I do add oak chips to the cheap kits and will to future batches of the powder but I wanted to know how it tasted before adding anything. I do a bit of woodwork and made a toy box for a friend from a quarter of an old wine barrel so I've quite a few barrel staves. When I need some I just plane off shavings and add at first ferment. I've also toasted some larger chips in the oven and added them to cheap vodka and it gives it an interesting "bourbon" like taste after a week or so.
The berries I added are Tesco frozen ones and I just put a 1kg bag in after it had sat in pectolase over night. Can't comment on the outcome as it's not in bottles as yet but it smells nice.

 

[BeerCat]

Love the woodwork and welcome to the forum by the way. Once my DJ's are free will be giving this a go.

 

[110ben]

Thanks Led Zep hope you give us an update when you try the latest brew.
Love the user name by the way rock on

 

[Boatbrewer]

I am only speculating but I would think the advantage of this powdered stuff over red grape juice is that there is some grape skin present. That, after all, is what gives body and colour.

 

[LED_ZEP]

Cheers Led very interesting. I would not mind trying using it in a Port amongst other things.

It has a smell of port when you first mix it with hot water..The thought did pass my mind too.

 

[LED_ZEP]

I am only speculating but I would think the advantage of this powdered stuff over red grape juice is that there is some grape skin present. That, after all, is what gives body and colour.

Think you're right. It's got a nice acid balance, plenty of tannin.

 

[simon12]

I wonder how its made, since I think the sugar content must be missing I wonder if its made from whats left after the juice is removed from the grapes.

 

[LED_ZEP]

I wonder how its made, since I think the sugar content must be missing I wonder if its made from whats left after the juice is removed from the grapes.

Just checked my note and I added approx 4Kg of dextrose to 23l. I failed to record the s.g. with just the powder but there can't be much sugar if any if I'm adding so much to get to 1.082

 

[Boatbrewer]

Yeah, it looks like there is no sugar in it which makes it ideal for boosting up kits. I'll be ordering a bag and adding some to my next Beaverdale.