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OT?: Winemaking
David Rance wrote: On Sun, 6 Aug 2006, Mike Lyle wrote: I'd never boil, though: for my taste, it spoils the flavour. I've never bothered with measuring OG, either: I just work on the principle that every quarter-pound of sugar in a gallon, if fermented right out, raises the alcohol by 1%. So for most fruits, three pounds or so, added in two or three stages, plus some grape juice or concentrate, is about right. Quarter of a pound of sugar will produce 1.5% alcohol in every gallon (source: Peter Duncan and Brian Acton - forgotten the name of the book as I don't have it here in Normandy). Yes, you're right: sorry. I find even my own notes say so. I haven't done it for two years. Memory like, er, what do you call those things with holes in? And adding three pounds of sugar all in one go is likely to inhibit the yeast and the fermentation will possibly have difficulty in starting. Yes: hence my suggestion of adding it in two or three stages. Like yours, my target is, or was, about 12%. [...] And you're right - never, NEVER, boil the fruit for wine-making, especially if it contains pectin. If you do the haze will never clear. Another poster has mentioned the question of sterilisation. Sulphur and bleach, or fancy proprietary products (also chlorine-based, I suppose), are the only methods I know about: copper sulphate's allowed under organic rules in Bordeaux mixture, so I don't see why a sulphite shouldn't be allowed for sterilising. In the old days, I think they used to sterilise casks by fumigating them with burning sulphur. To stabilise finished wine, Campden tablets (sodium metabisulphite) are usual; but some people react to it, so ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can be used instead -- though I've never tried it. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that sulphite isn't organically acceptable as an additive in the wine itself: producers probably rely on good hygiene to protect the wine in bottle. But when your only customer is yourself, you can bend the rules. -- Mike. |
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