Bottling Homemade Wine

Dear Kraus,

I have a batch of peach wine and a batch of pear wine in 5 gallon glass jugs ready to bottle.  Both need to be sweetened at bottling time to bring out more of the fruit flavor.  Please explain to this rookie exactly how you sweeten the wine as you bottle it.  Do you add the sugar/water solutions to each bottle or do you add to the 5 gallon glass jugs, stir, and then bottle??  Same question on how to add the chemicals to prevent re-fermentation and oxidation.  And, is plain sugar OK...

Dear Kraus,

Has anyone used STEVIA to sweeten the wine before bottling? It might take more than expected but I would like to try it.

I am Diabetic and adding sugar to sweeten the wine just adds problems, so I don’t drink my wine, which my wife is okay with… because she can drink it without problem.  

Could there be problem using this sweetener after fermentation?

Thanks in advance.
Bob W.
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Hello Bob,

There is nothing wrong with using stevia to sweeten a wine at bottling time. I have not used it...

Hello Kraus,

I have been making wine from top end ($200+) wine kits and really getting into it.

I was wondering if I should continue with wine kits or jump into creating wine from fresh grapes. I guess my questions is: What will produce a better red wine, a high end wine kit or quality fresh grapes?

Best Regards,
Dominick S.
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Hello Dominick,

This is really a great question, and one that I'm sure is on the minds of many individuals who use these homemade wine kits, so I'll cut right to the...

Hi,

I have started with 32 lbs. of concord grapes, sorted and crushed.  The recipe (doubled) on page 19 of your book named "Winemaker's Recipe Handbook", recipe #54, the Concord "Fresh -Dessert" one does not call for any water, where the other Concord choices of wine recipes do call for water. 

As I have never made wine before that did not call for some water, what can I expect this wine to be like, dryish, or not, I am at a loss as to what to expect. Should I add some water?

Thanks
Kelly
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One of the most commonly used ingredients in home wine making are Campden Tablets. You will find them in almost any of the wine making recipes you will use; talked about in almost any of the wine making books you will read; and called into action by just about any of the homemade wine instructions you will follow.

What Do Campden Tablets Do?
The original reason these tablets were used in wine making was to keep the wine from spoiling after it had been bottled. By adding these tablets at bottling...

Quick question,

If you have frozen fruit (like I do) for months do you need to use Sodium Metabisulfite when you start the wine brewing process or does the freezing kill all the bad stuff.

Thanks,
Steven
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Hello Steven,

Unfortunately, freezing does not destroy mold, bacteria or other "bad stuff". It simply puts its growth into suspension, or hibernation if you like. Freezing will damage some of the cells with freezer-burn, but not nearly enough to save your fruit from needing a sulfite...

Hi EC,

How long can finished wine be stored in gallon glass jugs?

Gabe
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Dear Gabe,

There is nothing unique to homemade grape wine that makes it spoil any faster or keep any better than commercially made wines. As long as the homemade grape wine is treated properly, it will keep just as long and as good as wines stored in glass jugs that you purchase at the store.

What does treated properly actually mean?

1. It means your wine must be dosed with sulfites, and 
2. Your glass jugs must be...

Hello Kraus,

I made 5 gallons of grape juice by using a steam juicer. In this process the stems were still attached to the grapes. Do I need to do anything special from the normal wine making process? I was told the stems contain pectin and may require additives.

Thank you,
Henry
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Hello Henry,
 
I believe what your friend was referring to is the tannin that is in the stems of the grapes. Tannin is also found in the seeds and skins.

Some tannin in wine is a good thing. It helps the wine...

Dear Sir;

I have a question concerning adding the wine conditioner (sweetener) to a batch of Zinfandel wine I just made.

If the wine has a rather harsh taste at this point (before aging) won't that affect the determination of how much sweetener that needs to be added before bottling?  In other words will the harsh taste mask or interfere with the sweetness taste adjustment?

Jay
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Hello Jay,

Yes, you are correct. You have to be careful with how much of a sweetener, such as Wine Conditioner,...

1. Pour an inch worth of the...

Hello,

I'm curious as to when the threat of wine turning to vinegar is over, if ever, and what causes it. Is there an in depth explanation anywhere I can get the science of this?

Thanks Jane

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Dear Jane,

Acetic acid is what makes vinegar taste like vinegar. If you had acetic acid in a jar and poured some of it into a fruit drink, it would immediately start to take on the characteristics of vinegar.

Acetic acid is made by a bacteria known as acetobacter. This bacteria is everywhere: in the...