My Wine Recipe Doesn't Call For Yeast

Posted on November 6, 2018 by AIH

I have an old wine recipe that came from Germany, through the family, but the wine recipe doesn’t call for yeast of any kind… What does the yeast do and is it essential in home wine making?
Thanks, Connee

Hello Connee,
Simply put, yeast is where the rubber meets the road. Without wine yeast you’ll have no fermentation, and with no fermentation you’ll have no alcohol! That’s why it is imperative that the starting wine must has yeast of some kind, even if the wine recipe doesn’t call for yeast.

What’s Going On?…
What’s happening when you make wine is sugar is being turned into alcohol through a process called fermentation. Yeast is what performs the fermentation. Each yeast is a single-celled, living organism that literally eats the sugars that are in the wine must and turns it into alcohol and CO2 gas. This is what wine making is all about.

Where Does The Yeast Come From?

Some older wine recipes – like the one you have – will have no yeast of any kind in the recipe. This is because the yeast are expected to be provided by the fruit, naturally. Fruit, whether it be grapes, peaches, or strawberries, already have wild yeast on them so there will be a fermentation of some kind; it will just be fermenting wine without yeast you’ve added.
Using the yeast that Mother Nature provided was an acceptable practice way-back-when because wine yeast was not readily available. And, if your wine recipe is really, really old, they may not have even known that yeast doing the job. The connection between yeast and fermentation was not put together until as recently as 1857. So as you can start to see, this may be why your wine recipe doesn’t call for yeast of any kind.

Is The Wild Yeast Good Enough?
Homemade wines made from wild yeasts are marginal at best. Typically, the yeast found out in the wild have trouble fermenting to an acceptable alcohol level. The flavor and aromas they put off can be objectionable. Wild yeast wines also have a harder time clearing up. This is primarily because the yeast do not collect and clump together like domesticated wine yeast do (flocculation). The clumping helps the yeast to drop out cleanly and quickly. Domesticated wine yeast are bred to do this.
The only exception to this are some Old World wineries that rely on feral yeast from the vineyard. Feral yeast is maintained but out in nature. Great care is taken to keep the yeast strain maintained in the fields. Spent pulp from the fermentation is put back into the soils along the fines so that the yeast within the pulp can cover next year’s crops.

Yeast Today
Today things are different. Wine making yeast are readily available from wine making shops like us. These are the same strains of wine yeast used by professional wineries. They are able to ferment to an acceptable alcohol level and produce a much cleaner flavored wine. And, their cost is not that much different than buying a pack of baker’s yeast.
There is an entire array of wine yeast strains from which to choose. Each one has slightly different flavor characteristics or different qualities that make it well suited for a certain style of wine. You can find an example of some of these characteristic in this wine profile chart.

Here’s My Recommendations
My advice to you – without seeing the wine recipe – is to go ahead and follow it, but I would also add a packet of wine making yeast for every 5 or 6 gallons of must. You may also want to take a look at the article, Why Should I Use Wine Yeast that is listed on our website. This will give you a little deeper explanation about yeast and its role in wine making.
You may want to give up on using the wine recipe all together. While using a wine recipe that doesn’t call for any yeast can be done. Why risk your time an effort when there are so many more modern wine recipe available.
Happy Wine Making,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

There Are Black Spots In My Wine

Posted on October 25, 2018 by AIH

I have made a number of batches of fruit wine and consumed most of it. This is the first time I have used cherimoya in a persimmon blend. Cherimoya is a very sweet fruit, large amounts of sediment, and does not fully clear after racking it four times.
The bottled wine is stored on its side in a dark environment for 6 months. Placing a bottle on its side creates a small air bubble at the top most section of the bottle. A black spot appears on the inside of the bottle within the air bubble. Most of these black spot will merge with the wine after the bottle is turned upright for a day or so.
What is this black spot in my wine?
Name: Mark A.
State: Hawaii
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Hello Mark,
It’s hard to know precisely what these black spots in your wine are, but normally we associate having black spots in your wine with either a mold or bacteria growth. Combined with the fact that it is appearing where there is an air pocket in the wine bottle, I would say that it is more likely to be a growth of some sort. This is where you would typically see mold or bacteria to start to grow – next to the air.
If you did not add a sulfite to your wine before bottling such as: Campden tablets, potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite, this would strongly add to my belief that a mold or bacteria is trying to grow in your wine. Sulfites are needed to help protect the wine from spoilage while it is in the wine bottle.
In addition to bottling time, you should also be using Campden tablets in the wine must before the fermentation. This is to rid the wine must from contaminates that may have come along with the fruit. The sulfites are added 24 hours before the wine yeast. Leave the the fermenter uncovered during this 24 hours to allow the sulfites to dissipate, otherwise they can interfere with the fermentation.
If you did not sanitize your wine bottles in addition to cleaning them with soapy water, this would also make me think that you are dealing with a mold or bacteria and could easily be the reason you have black spots in your wine. Cleaning the grime from the wine bottles is not good enough. They need to be sanitize with something like: Basic A or B-Brite. Any of these will easily destroy the microscopic contaminants that can grow in your wine.
If you have been doing all the above, it is still possible for a mold or bacteria to contaminate a wine and cause these black spots to form in your wine. It’s just a little harder to know how it is happening. It could be from the corks, screw-caps or whatever you are using to close the wine bottle. It could be from a piece of equipment you are using that has a nook-or-cranny that is not getting sanitized sufficiently. It could also be something as blindsiding as the sulfites you are using are old and expired. Any and all things must be considered.
After having said all this, I would like to point out that if you had said the black spots where at the lower part of the wine bottle my answer would have been completely different. I would have attributed this to tannins dropping out of the wine. This is very common and expected with some wines. But the fact that you said the black spot were next to the air pocket makes all the difference in the world.
Any time there are black spots in your wine, there is reason for concern. At this point I would be very hesitant to drink the wine for fear of getting sick. It is possible to save the wine by putting it all back in a fermenter; add sulfites, and re-bottle. The sulfites will kill the mold or bacteria. However, I do not recommend doing this if there is any question to the smell of flavor of the wine. Adding sulfite at this point will only stop the wine from getting worse and make it safe to drink. It will not improve the wine’s flavor or aroma. So if the wine taste or smells bad now, don’t waist your time and effort. Dump it.
Best Wishes,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Do Wine Ingredient Kits Need Adjusting?

Posted on October 23, 2018 by AIH

I purchased a California Connoisseur Merlot concentrate kit. Do wine ingredient kits need adjusting of any kind. Like does this concentrate consist of tannins? If it does, would it hurt to add tannin to help it’s staying qualities? Should I have an acid testing kit? If so, does the tannin have to be added during/before fermentation or can I put it in at any time? Are there any other adjustments that need to be made to these wine ingredient kits?
Doug B.
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Hello Doug,
Thank you for this great question about adjusting wine ingredient kits.
All of the wine ingredient kits we offer have been adjusted and bench-tested with sample batches to produce a balanced, stable wine with great flavor. Any attempts to make further adjustments with various wine making ingredients such as wine tannin, acid blend or flavorings are completely unnecessary and more likely to be counterproductive.
These wine ingredient kits come complete with all the additional packets of wine making ingredients you will need to add to the wine along the way. All that is required of you to make a perfectly balanced wine is to follow the instructions that are included with these wine ingredient kits.
The producers of these kits crush the grapes and allow the juice to sit on the pulp until the right amount of flavor, color and body components are extracted from the grape skins into the juice. After the extraction process, the pulp is removed and the grape juice is concentrated, and sample batches of wine are made. It is at this time that any necessary adjustments are made to the grape concentrate for the sake of flavor balance and stability.
You can go ahead and make adjustments by adding other wine making ingredients to the wine must, however you will be running the risk of upsetting the stability and flavor balance of the resulting wine. In the case of adding tannin to a wine ingredient kit, you could be adding more than the wine will be able to saturate or hold within the liquid. This could result in the development of dark, dusty deposits in your wine bottles over time.
Doug, I hope this answers your question about adjusting wine ingredient kits. I hope you can start to see, a lot of care goes into the production process of these wine ingredient kits, so much so that they do not need any further adjusting of any kind. Once they are packaged they are ready to be made simply by following the directions that come with them. Add the additional packets as called for, and you will be making a stable wine with great balance and flavor.
Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Using Concentrated Grape Juice For Topping-Up

Posted on October 16, 2018 by AIH

On the question of head space in the secondary fermenter–Can you add concentrate grape juice?
Gavin V. — GA
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Hello Gavin,
I’m assuming that you are referring to our resent blog post on ways to reduce head-space in a fermenter.
Certainly, topping up wine with concentrate is something that can be done, however realize that you are adding sugar. In fact, the concentrated grape juice is mostly sugar.
If the fermentation has completed, this will add more fuel for it to start up again. For this reason it is important that a wine stabilizer such a potassium sorbate also be added along with the concentrated grape juice. This will help to eliminate the chance of your wine having a re-fermentation.
If the fermentation has completed you do not want it starting up again. You will also need to take into consideration the more-obvious issue – that is – the concentrated grape juice will make the wine sweeter. If you want your wine to be dry, this would not be what you’d want to use top up your wine.
If the fermentation is still going, then adding the concentrated grape juice will increase the potential alcohol of the fermentation. There is always the possibility of raising the alcohol level too much, bringing the wine out of balance. Very seldom will you ever want the total potential alcohol of a wine to go over 13%, and only then if your wine has a lot of flavor. Wines with higher alcohol will have a tendency to taste hot and less flavorful.
It is also important to understand that topping up wine with concentrate will also add more acidity to the wine. Just like there is a lot of sugar in the concentrated grape juice, there is a lot of fruit acid. It is possible that using it to top up your wine could make it too tart or sharp tasting. This is the case regardless if the wine is still fermenting nor not.
So, if your wine must is low in acid and you like your wine’s off-dry or even sweet, then topping up your wine with a grape concentrate may be a good option. But, other than this scenario, I do not think this is a great option for you.
Regular grape juice would be a much better choice.
Since the regular, un-concentrated, grape juice will have about the same acidity level as a wine, blending the two will not change the tartness of the wine to any noticeable degree.
The sugar will still be a consideration. If you want your wine to stay dry as it would normally be after a fermentation, then grape juice – concentrated or not – would not be what you want to use. On the other hand, if you like your wines a off-dry or the wine is still fermenting, then grape juice might be something to consider.
Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Is It Possible To Re-Bottle Homemade Wine?

Posted on October 6, 2018 by AIH

I bottled some wine in 2014-2015 when I first started wine making. Back then I skipped too many step. Well the wine taste good but some of the batches have sediment. Though this does not bother me when you are sharing it bothers some. My question is can I filter and re-bottle homemade wine. I thought it might be that easy. If so, I would have a short bottle of wine after filtering that I would get to drink. 🙂 The picture is some Pumpkin wine I made that still has Pumpkin fibers in it.
Name: Marty
State: IL
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Hello Marty,
Yes, you can re-bottle wine, even at this late date, but you will need to be concerned with keeping air exposure to a minimum. Excessive air can cause your wine to oxidize. Oxidation will cause the wine to become darker and more brown in color. It will also cause the wine to be less fruity or more lifeless in character.
With that said, here’s the direction on how to re-bottle wine.
Getting the wine out of the bottle is where most of the oxygen exposure will occur. This is due to the glugging of the wine as it is being poured. This is the step where you will want to take care, and keep the glugging of the wine to minimum.
Fortunately, there are a couple of things you can do to counter the potential effects of oxidation when re-bottling wine:

First is to treat the wine with sulfites after it has been put into a common container. This would either be Campden tablets, potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite. Any of these will work. This will drive out most of the oxygen that was saturated into the wine during decanting.

Secondly, you can add a dose of ascorbic acid to the wine. This will help to lower the pH of the wine without affecting its flavor. Lower pH means oxygen will have a harder time oxidizing the phenolic compounds in the wine.

A carboy would be the ideal container in which to clear the wine when it is being re-bottled. This will allow you to eliminate any excessive airspace in with the wine due to the shape of the carboy’s neck. Keeping the airspace down to a minimum is important because it will take the wine several days, if not a couple weeks, to clear.
Filtering the wine is not a good option in this situation. Judging from the picture you provided, the wine is clear; it just needs to taken away from the solids collecting in the wine.
To help speed up the process and get the wine re-bottled, I would recommend using a fining agent or wine clarifier on the wine. Because this is a pumpkin wine, which is light in color and may have an abundance of protein in it, I would suggest using Sparkolloid as the choice for a fining agent. Sparkolloid will easily drop out the protein, or fiber as you called it. It is also helpful in stripping some of the browning affects of oxidation from a wine. This is an added bonus. Just follow the directions on the jar to treat the wine.
Once the wine has been treated and cleared you can then re-bottle the wine. Re-bottling this time will be no different than any other time. You will want to add sulfites, again, just before doing so, as most of the sulfite added earlier will have dissipated from the wine.
Many home winemakers have ask, “can I re-bottle homemade wine”, for a number of different reasons: from making the wine sweeter to, “I don’t like the color of the wine bottle”. Hopefully, this information will clear up how to re-bottle wine in a safe way that will not jeopardize the wine so much.
Best Wishes,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

What Causes A Nutty Flavor In Wine?

Posted on October 4, 2018 by AIH

My red wine harvested this year is currently going through a malolactic fermentation, but it has a nutty flavor that has persisted for a month or so. I have never tasted this particular flavor in a wine undergoing malolactic fermentation before. What causes a nutty flavor in wine?
Jack W. – TX
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Hello Jack,
A malolactic fermentation can have a light, nutty influence on a wine, but it is typically not noticeable in reds. It is more likely to be a characteristic experienced in whites, more specifically, Chardonnay.
If the your homemade wine has a nutty flavor or taste that is more like hazelnut, I would not be concerned about it too much. It is most likely coming from the malolactic culture. But, if your homemade wine has more of a bitter nut flavor, giving almost a metallic impression, then it could be something called autolysis.
Autolysis is a process that can happen as a fermentation runs out of sugars. The active yeast cell – still looking for food – will begin to consume the dead and inactive yeast cells that lay at the bottom of the fermenter. In doing so, the yeast produce an enzyme that puts off a bitter-nut to metallic flavor. This is the more common reason for having a nutty flavor in wine – particularly, such a young wine.
The one sure way to keep autolysis from occurring in any wine is by not allowing it to sit on any dead yeast cells for extended periods of time. A few days, or even a couple of weeks is fine in some cases, but neglecting the wine further than this can result in the autolysis process occurring enough to put a nutty flavor in wine.
If you have been keeping up with your rackings, then I doubt autolysis is something that should have even brought up here. In this situation the nutty taste is most likely to be all caused by the malolactic fermentation, but if you still have the wine on the sediment from the primary fermentation, then autolysis is a very real possibility.
If after reading this you feel that the nutty flavor or taste in your homemade wine is coming from the MLF, you have a choice. You can allow the MLF to continue, or if you do not like the flavor, you can permanently stop the MLF by adding a dose of sulfite to the wine. A teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite for every 16 gallons will be sufficient. This will keep it from getting any more intense. If you feel the nutty flavor is coming from autolysis, then you will need to rack the wine into a clean vessel, away from the sediment.
Regardless of why there’s a nutty flavor in wine, it is irreversible. I have seen situations where the nuttiness has reduced or mellowed with aging, but I would not count on it happening. As a benefit, the nuttiness could end up working out to compliment other characters that develop as the wine ages. This would help by promoting the wine’s complexity.
Jack, I hope this clears up what’s happening to your wine for you. If it is a light hazelnut type flavor I would not consider it a defect at all. Consider embracing it. But if it’s a flavor you just can’t stand, hit the wine with sulfites and see what develops with a little aging.
Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Tips For Removing Wine Bottle Labels

Posted on September 29, 2018 by AIH

What’s the best way to go about removing wine bottle labels off store bought wine bottles.
Donald D. – OH
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Hello Donald,
By far the best way to handle removing wine bottle labels from your wine bottles is to find someone else to do it. There’s nothing fun about it, and there’s no magical tricks that makes it effortless for the home winemaker. There’s some work involved. Having said this, there are some things you can do to make removing wine bottle labels a little less dreadful.
The number one thing you can do to make the process easier is to be selective about what used wine bottles you save. Not all wine bottle labels are the same. Some wine bottle labels are easier to remove than others.
The ideal wine bottle label to take off is a paper label, one where the paper has not been sealed or coated. These types of wine bottle labels will allow water to soak directly through them and to the glue. If given a little time the labels almost fall off once the water as dissolved the glue. These labels can be identified as being rough to the touch and flat in appearance – not glossy and slick.
Wine bottle labels that are made of a sealed paper will be smooth to the touch and have a shiny appearance. The glue will usually dissolve just as easily. The problem is getting the water to the glue. It will not soak as readily through a wine bottle label made from a sealed paper.
If you do find that this is the kind of label you are dealing with, you can get around this problem with a little extra effort. By taking a razor blade and liberally scoring the label before soaking, you can give the water access points to the glue. Run a bunch of cuts across the label in all directions. The more the better. Let the wine bottle labels soak overnight. You will then need to use a utility scraper to take the labels off.
Once you are done removing wine bottle labels you will still need to deal with some residual glue that is left on the wine bottle. One product I have used for this purpose for years is Goo Gone. Apply it to the glue, and rub it down with a rag.
Donald, I hope this gives you some better insight as how to go about removing wine bottle labels. As you can see there is some time and effort involved. It’s enough work that it’s not something you want to do the same day you plan on bottling your wine. This go much more smoothly if you are removing wine bottle lables ahead of time. That way all you’ll need to do is sanitize the wine bottles before bottling your wine.
As a final note, it doesn’t have to be this way! We always have new wine bottles that will save you all this trouble. In fact, we have quite a variety now – both cork finish and screw cap finish – in different colors and in different sizes. These would eliminate the need of removing labels from the wine bottles all together.
Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Sparkolloid: When Do You Add It To Wine?

Posted on September 4, 2018 by AIH

At what point do I add the Sparkolloid to my wine?
Jerre M. — TN
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Hello Jerre,
Thank you for the great question about when to add Sparkolloid to a wine.
Technically, Sparkolloid fining can be added anytime after the wine has stopped fermenting. However, normally it is added after the wine has been treated with bentonite fining. Sparkolloid powder is kind of the left-hook to the bentonite’s right-jab. One works to take out what the other can’t. You will find all the instructions for its use on the side of the container we offer.
Bentonite takes the most particulate out of the wine, so it is typically used first. Once the fermentation stops, a winery will add a dose of bentonite to drop out the the bulk of the proteins. This is mostly made up of yeast cells and tannin. Most would drop out on its own, but the bentonite helps it drop out more quickly.
While bentonite is the best at dropping out large amounts, what it is not particularly the best at is adding a polish to the wine, or getting out that final, last bit of particles. While the wine will look somewhat clear after a bentonite treatment, there are fining agents that can add more polish to the wine. This is where Sparkolloid finings come in. Sparkolloid powder is able to take out finer particles by neutralizing their electrical charge and allowing them to collect and drop out. This increases the luster or brilliance of the wine. For this reason, after a bentonite treatment is when to add Sparkolloid finings to a wine.
Sparkolloid powder is not good at taking out large volumes of particulate matter. For this reason, if you are only using Sparkolloid to fine your wine, then I would wait a month or two after the fermentation, to make sure that what can drop out on its own does so. Once the wine quits improving in clarity on its own, rack it off the sediment and add the Sparkolloid finings.
So, when to add Sparkolloid powder to a wine really depends on whether or not bentonite is being used beforehand. If so, wait about a week and then add it. If you are not using bentonite, then you may need to wait several weeks before the wine has cleared enough for Sparkolloid to be effective.

Happy Winemaking.

Own A Napa Vineyard

Posted on August 2, 2018 by AIH

Yes, that’s right! You can own your own vineyard (2 vines) in California’s coveted Napa Valley for one year. Then have the crushed grapes sent to you so you can make your own Napa wine. This is a spectacular offer at a spectacular price. Quality, Napa-grown grapes sent to your door.
Here’s How It Works!
Carneros Della Notte vineyard in Napa valley is leasing their vines for one year. They will send you a certificate of ownership and mark your 2 vines by tagging them with whatever vineyard name you choose. Once the grapes (Pinot Noir) are harvested (in September), you have the option of having them sent to you so your can make your own private estate wine. Carneros Della Notte will contact you about how to do this shortly before the harvest. The crushed grapes will come to you directly from the vineyard in a 5 gallon package, crushed, and ready for fermentation. Just pay shipping.
Here’s What You Get:

A vineyard lease for one year (2 vines)
Certificate of ownership of your Napa vineyard, suitable for framing.
If you like, the opportunity to come visit your vines anytime. Please call ahead.
2 invitations to the estate’s Annual Night Harvest Party.
The option of having the 5 gallons of crushed, Napa-grown, Pinot Noir grapes sent to you.
And as a bonus, 50% all Carneros Della Notte wine during the year.

Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

Is Feeding Sugar During The Fermentation Necessary?

Posted on July 28, 2018 by AIH

I am making two recipes of Peach wine now and want to know why they call for feeding sugar during the fermentation instead of adding it all at once? Adding the initial amount I get a reading of 1.055. What is the reason for adding of the sugar this way?…
Mark M. – GA
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Hello Mark,
It is the thinking of some home winemakers that by feeding sugar during the fermentation you are making it easier for the wine yeast to ferment. If you add the sugar incrementally, you are less likely to have a stuck fermentation.
The reason for this is because you are not ever letting the sugar concentration of the wine must get too high with this method: you put some sugar in the wine must; the yeast ferments it into alcohol; and then you add some more.
There is some valid reasoning behind this, but it sounds like the wine recipe you are looking at is taking it a little too far.
Too much sugar in any liquid can act as a preservative. As the sugar concentration goes higher, yeast, bacteria, molds, all have a more difficult time fermenting. The is why sugar syrups do not spoil at all. The sugar concentration is so extreme that nothing can touch it.
This is true for a wine must, as well. Sugar acts as a preservative on the wine must. As the sugar concentration goes up in a wine must, it becomes increasingly difficult for the wine yeast to ferment. However, if you are targeting an alcohol level of 14% or lower, you should not have any issues in this regard. The yeast can easily ferment the amount of sugar required to make 14% or less all at once. In these situations feeding the sugar to the fermentation is nothing but needless, extra work. You can go ahead and put all the sugar in at the same time.
The winemakers that like feeding sugar during the fermentation are typically the winemakers who are trying to drive the alcohol up as much as they can in their homemade wine. The process of feeding sugar during the fermentation becomes necessary if you are trying to produce all the alcohol you can with the wine yeast.
The winemaker would start out by adding enough sugar to ferment 13% – 14% alcohol. As the fermentation began to run out of sugar and slow down, they would then add a little more to extend the fermentation. They would continue to add sugar in increasingly smaller amounts until the wine yeast couldn’t ferment anymore.
In this situation you are fighting two elements: the preservative effects of sugar and the preservative effects of alcohol. Just like when the sugar levels go up, the yeast have a harder time fermenting, the wine yeast have a harder time fermenting when the alcohol level goes up. This means that later in the fermentation things keep getting tougher and tougher to accomplish. The increased alcohol starts to preserve the wine, making the fermentation all that more sensitive to the sugar concentration levels.
I for one do not recommend driving the alcohol up with sugar for the simple reason that the wine will taste watery and out of balance. This is because of the numbing effects of alcohol on the tongue. We can no longer taste the fruit of the wine, only the hot of the alcohol.
Mark, if I were in your shoes, I would forget about feeding sugar during the fermentation regardless of what the wine recipe directions say. Instead, I would simply use my hydrometer to determine how much sugar to add to end up with a wine that’s 12% or 13%. Just keep adding sugar until the potential alcohol scale on the hydrometer reads somewhere in this area.
Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.