Supermarket Juice Wine How To guide and Recipes.

[kelper]

I'd leave it as is. Possibly the sugar had not all dissolved or was not stirred in properly which won't matter. If you leave it until the SG is0.995 or lower, it will be 11% plus.
The sugar will dissolve by itself raising the SG. Did you calculate how much sugar was in the juice? My guess is you were aiming for an SG of 1.100. Cloudy juice is ok but you will need finings or patience to clear it. (I use finings!)

 

[lupinehorror]

cheers! it the sugar was dissolved ok i'm sure but it was the calculation of the juice content that i wasn't at all sure about. my previous efforts have been more slapdash (but i still have the majority of my vision). still very much learning. first time i'd used my hydrometer and this is my 6th batch.
1.100 was my ballpark pretty much. aiming for around 12%.
do appreciate your input and 0.995 has been noted.
got turbo finings but as it'll probably just be me drinking it i may just leave it rustic. if it's visually unappealing people are less likely to ask for a bottle.

 

[kelper]

do appreciate your input and 0.995 has been noted. I may just leave it rustic. if it's visually unappealing people are less likely to ask for a bottle.

Wine can get even lower than 0.995 but t takes time. Lots of country wine recipes suggest leaving it for months! Do use finings as it is such a joy to pour a glass of wine that is not cloudy. You taste with your nose and eyes!

 

[Nidger]

for my first try i went with morrisons 2L of100% fruit juice. 1L of pineapple and 1L of apple (cloudy...probably a mistake) and 1L of welch's 100% purple grape juice. 600g of sugar and up to the gallon mark. took my (first ever) OG reading of 1082 which with hindsight seems a little low. should i bung in some more sugar once it gets going?

The consensus on this thread seems to be 2.5 ltr of juice for wine.

See here.

Its not just my expertise this thread has more than 3 thousand posts/recipes in it if the final product of making wine from 2.5 litres of juice in a 4.5 litre DJ ended with thin wine with little taste or mouth feel people would have gone for 4.5 litres of 100% juice years ago. (the thread is 7 years old) as you can see people are still sticking to the original recipes as they produce a decent wine but by all means give a 100% wine a go and compare.

Or am i missing something ?

 

[lupinehorror]

Wine can get even lower than 0.995 but t takes time. Lots of country wine recipes suggest leaving it for months! Do use finings as it is such a joy to pour a glass of wine that is not cloudy. You taste with your nose and eyes!

may patience is certainly improving but months may be a bit of a stretch. finings may well feature as you're right about the whole experience.

The consensus on this thread seems to be 2.5 ltr of juice for wine.

See here.
Or am i missing something ?

i can't actually remember which recipe i adapted. it may have been of a good age. it's all new to me basically. i do expect a few stumbles along the way.

 

[kelper]

2.5kg does seem good, but I like to pack in the most. So now I add the sugar first and top up with 100% juices until I reach 4.5 litres. I don't dissolve the sugar in hot water. I tried putting cold water and sugar in a jam jar and the sugar had dissolved itself overnight. In future, I will add sugar to get a total of 1100g to 4.5 litres and trust it to dissolve, so I can't actually measure the OG. My Tilt will tell me if the SG starts to rise faster than it drops!

 

[lupinehorror]

i bunged the sugar in some warm water in the DJ to dissolve it then added in the juice (which cooled the water nicely) and a cup of strong tea.

My Tilt

?

 

[kelper]

My tilt?

is this a question?

Tilt is a hydrometer that transmits readings to your phone or laptop so that you can monitor a fermentation without faffing with a hydrometer.

 

[lupinehorror]

the lass faff the better. will check that out. one for the list i'm sure. ta.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

OG reading of 1082 which with hindsight seems a little low. should i bung in some more sugar once it gets going?

Its that long since i have used my hydrometer i have forgotten what the OG used to be but i am fairly certain it was 1090 and if ythat is the case i wouldn't bother adding more you wont notice the difference.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

The consensus on this thread seems to be 2.5 ltr of juice for wine.

There is no right or wrong here some members use two litres of juice , some 2.5 and some use 100% the important thing is to make sure whatever you use that the total sugar is around 1100g then you'll know it'll finish around 13%.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Its that long since i have used my hydrometer i have forgotten what the OG used to be but i am fairly certain it was 1090 and if that is the case i wouldn't bother adding more you wont notice the difference.

I didn't notice Kepler had already answered your question before i posted.

 

[lupinehorror]

total sugar is around 1100g

that's added to my notes. cheers. i will inspect the juice a bit more closely next time. on this occasion i'll admit that price was the main focus

 

[Chippy_Tea]

that's added to my notes. cheers. i will inspect the juice a bit more closely next time. on this occasion i'll admit that price was the main focus

To be honest the reason i stopped using the hydrometer was because all the info back when i started said 1100g total to start and stop when its only bubbling once every couple of minutes its a lazy way of doing things but it suited me as i am lazy.

 

[kelper]

I like my wines as dry as possible. But just like Maestro Chippy, I sugar up to 1,100g total sugars per 4.5 litre (1 gallon) demijohn; But I ferment to dry or less than SG = 0.995. Chippy ends his fermentations a bit earlier to stop his Missus getting garrulous!

Hence, my wines are closer to 14%.

 

[kelper]

On this occasion I'll admit that price was the main focus.

We are all tight bastards on here!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Chippy ends his fermentations a bit earlier to stop his Missus getting garrulous!

By the time i finished i was down to adding 625g as SWMBO kept falling asleep half way through stuff she wanted to watch on TV on a Saturday night.

 

[kelper]

SWMBO kept falling asleep

What's wrong with that?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

What's wrong with that?

She snores.

 

[lupinehorror]

i prefer my wines dry too as if i quaff sweet things before turning in for the night there's no sleep (despite the units consumed).