Supermarket Juice Wine How To guide and Recipes.

[WelshSteW]

Have started an apple and blackcurrant batch today, and decided to try and take a gravity reading this time.

That's basically exactly 0.90, right?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

You need to use the scale below -

 

[WelshSteW]

Yes, sorry, my mistake. So I think it's actually 1.090 ish?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

That sounds fine.

 

[WelshSteW]

Threads Merged - Admin.

Hi,
This has been a long time coming, tbh. I watched this video -



- a few times during lockdown, and told myself I'd get around to it at some point. Then lockdown ended, and it went on the backburner.
Well, last weekend I actually went and had a go, and I don't know how I'm going to get through the next couple of weeks waiting for it to be ready!

I've already got plans for some different flavours, and I've been looking at some ale kits - but that seems like a step up from this.

Anyway, just wanted to say 'hi'

Just wanted to give an update on this really, because it was the first time I'd ever brewed, and I'm quite surprised tbh.
I got 5bottles of wine out it, with a bit left over. I drank the 'leftover' bit, and thought it was pretty bad. I put one bottle in the fridge, and the other 4 bottles went into the wine rack.

I think I left it a day or two, and then opened the bottle that was in the fridge. Wow, it was bad! It wasn't the flavour, really, because there didn't seem to be any - it just tasted of alcohol. Lots of alcohol. I ended up getting through the bottle, but only by treating the wine as a short, and adding a fair bit of lemonade to it.

As a result, I didn't fancy opening any of the other bottles for a while. Then, last week, I opened a second bottle.

The difference is amazing. I would actually describe it as 'nice' It had a flavour, the taste of alcohol had really softened, and I drank the bottle as is, no need for lemonade.

I had no idea how much it would change after just being left for a few weeks. That it could go from being borderline undrinkable, to something actually enjoy drinking, by doing nothing?! Wow. I'd gone on to trying other juices after that first bottle, trying to find something that was actually drinkable, but now I'm getting ready to make a second batch of that original recipe.

So yeah, just thought I'd put that out there in case any other people make it, taste it, and get put off. Just let it sit for a couple of weeks. It can make a huge difference.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

Just wanted to give an update on this really, because it was the first time I'd ever brewed, and I'm quite surprised tbh.
I got 5bottles of wine out it, with a bit left over. I drank the 'leftover' bit, and thought it was pretty bad. I put one bottle in the fridge, and the other 4 bottles went into the wine rack.

I think I left it a day or two, and then opened the bottle that was in the fridge. Wow, it was bad! It wasn't the flavour, really, because there didn't seem to be any - it just tasted of alcohol. Lots of alcohol. I ended up getting through the bottle, but only by treating the wine as a short, and adding a fair bit of lemonade to it.

As a result, I didn't fancy opening any of the other bottles for a while. Then, last week, I opened a second bottle.

The difference is amazing. I would actually describe it as 'nice' It had a flavour, the taste of alcohol had really softened, and I drank the bottle as is, no need for lemonade.

I had no idea how much it would change after just being left for a few weeks. That it could go from being borderline undrinkable, to something actually enjoy drinking, by doing nothing?! Wow. I'd gone on to trying other juices after that first bottle, trying to find something that was actually drinkable, but now I'm getting ready to make a second batch of that original recipe.

So yeah, just thought I'd put that out there in case any other people make it, taste it, and get put off. Just let it sit for a couple of weeks. It can make a huge difference.

I once made a 14% Belgian beer. Couldn't even swallow the first sip. Left then in the case, was going to bin it later, forgot about them. 2 years later I came upon that case. Wow.
Time heals all it seems

 

[Wrongway]

I started a 1 gal supermarket juice wine about a week ago. I have not brewed anything for 3 or 4 years and the last one was a 5 gal batch so I am a bit out of practice and restarting small. When I made it back then I would back sweeten as and when needed but as I will be giving away a few bottles out of this latest effort I will need to be a bit more careful in bottling after back sweetening in case it starts fermenting again. Any sugestions on how to prevent this. I seem to remember way back using something like potassium sorbate to kill off the fermentation but not sure if thats the best way as it may impart unwanted flavours.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I started a 1 gal supermarket juice wine about a week ago. I have not brewed anything for 3 or 4 years and the last one was a 5 gal batch so I am a bit out of practice and restarting small. When I made it back then I would back sweeten as and when needed but as I will be giving away a few bottles out of this latest effort I will need to be a bit more careful in bottling after back sweetening in case it starts fermenting again. Any sugestions on how to prevent this. I seem to remember way back using something like potassium sorbate to kill off the fermentation but not sure if thats the best way as it may impart unwanted flavours.

You could use a non fermentable sweetener. I successfully back sweetened a Cider recently using Canderel

 

[Wrongway]

You could use a non fermentable sweetener. I successfully back sweetened a Cider recently using Canderel

That would probably work well for me. My son though seems to be able to tell if anything has sweetener in it and refuses to drink it.
Will be worth a try though. I have a sweetener with Stevia in it which is plant based I believe so less chemical.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I will need to be a bit more careful in bottling after back sweetening in case it starts fermenting again. Any sugestions on how to prevent this. I seem to remember way back using something like potassium sorbate to kill off the fermentation but not sure if thats the best way as it may impart unwanted flavours.

The post below is from this thread from 2021 - Stop Fermentation



Fermentation Stopper ( Wine Stabiliser ) 30grm
Description
Also known as Potassium Sorbate. Added to a wine to stop the fermentation and prevent a re-fermentation after bottling

Potassium Sorbate is another home wine making ingredient that many winemakers consider when trying to stop a wine from fermenting any further. There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding this product.

It is typically called for by home wine making books when sweetening a wine. This is a situation where the fermentation has already completed and is ready for bottling. You simply add the Potassium Sorbate along with the sugar that is added for sweetening.

The Potassium Sorbate stops the wine yeast from fermenting the newly added sugar. So, many winemakers assume Potassium Sorbate can stop an active fermentation as well. But, nothing could be further from the truth.

Potassium Sorbate does not kill the yeast at all, but rather it makes the wine yeast sterile. In other words, it impairs the wine yeast's ability to reproduce itself. But, it does not hinder the wine yeast's ability to ferment sugar into alcohol.

Potassium Sorbate puts a coating on the cell wall of each individual wine yeast in such a way that budding or multiplying is next to impossible.

The idea here is that if you happen to have few cells of live wine yeast remaining in your finished wine, they will be rendered harmless if they are unable to regenerate themselves to great enough numbers to invigorate a fermentation of any kind. This is true even if more sugar is added to the finished wine.

Read in full - Wine Making Articles

 

[Robotman]

I’m having a problem with 2 batches of my supermarket wine, I’ve done this recipe before .. I was aiming at about 13%abv it kicked off well but won’t ferment out fully, it’s stopped fermenting at about 6%. I warmed up about a ltr, added another tsp of yeast, mixed it up and added it to the mix….. it didn’t kick start it again
Any suggestions ?

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

I’m having a problem with 2 batches of my supermarket wine, I’ve done this recipe before .. I was aiming at about 13%abv it kicked off well but won’t ferment out fully, it’s stopped fermenting at about 6%. I warmed up about a ltr, added another tsp of yeast, mixed it up and added it to the mix….. it didn’t kick start it again
Any suggestions ?

Sounds like it just stopped, happens sometimes. I normally just pick up the barrel and shake it til it all is in suspension again. Add some nutrients. Takes a while to clear but should start again. Good luck

 

[Robotman]

Ok I’ll give that a try

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I was aiming at about 13%abv it kicked off well but won’t ferment out fully, it’s stopped fermenting at about 6%.

What was the last reading?

Did any of the juice have preservative in it?

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

What was the last reading?

Did any of the juice have preservative in it?

I didn't even think to ask that, because he said that he had made the recipes before.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I didn't even think to ask that, because he said that he had made the recipes before.

It may be a different brand of juice, i have made hundreds of gallons of Supermarket juice wine and have never had one fail even in the middle of winter with *no heat source so there must be a reason these have failed, this is the only thing i can think of.

*I now have a heat pad to speed fermentation up it really slows down when we get to 15c in my kitchen in the middle of winter.

 

[SmallSpacesBrewing]

It may be a different brand of juice, i have made hundreds of gallons of Supermarket juice wine and have never had one fail even in the middle of winter with *no heat source so there must be a reason these have failed, this is the only thing i can think of.

*I now have a heat pad to speed fermentation up it really slows down when we get to 15c in my kitchen in the middle of winter.

I ferment my wine under pressure in my fermentasaurus in my fermenting fridge. The times mine hace stopped it's probably because of to much pressure and to little nutrients

 

[Skunkylager86]

I've been making juice wines for a while but hadn't tried the forum rosé until now. WOW is right, as good, if not better than a supermarket rosé and the colour is the only way you'd know it wasn't shop bought.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Glad you like it, how much juice did you use?

 

[Skunkylager86]

I fermented mine in 2ltr plastic lemonade bottles

Half litre red grape juice, half litre apple juice
Sugar made up to 500G (I might cut that to 400 next time as it is quite strong)
Tea
Half shot glass of lemon juice for acidity
Topped up with water

I have a question though, my wines are taking about 6 weeks minimum to ferment out, others on this forum are saying theirs are done in 2 weeks. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Am I using too much sugar?