877.812.1137

Making Sweet Wine

Back Sweetening like a Pro

Oftentimes winemakers desire a slightly sweeter product than their fermentations offer. Rather than trying to halt fermentation early, leaving an unknown amount of sugar in the wine,  it is a much more predictable and common practice to back sweeten the wines, adding sugar to the dry wine prior to bottling.

Check out our LIVE feed of the class on Facebook for more info!

Back Sweetening White vs. Red Wines

One of the benefits of making your own wine, is being able to create a wine tailored to your specific tastes. Traditional “rules” of dry reds can be forgotten as you create a wine designed for your palate. There are different steps to sweetening red and white wines to ensure success.

 

Red Wine

  • Lysovin:
    • An anti-microbial to kill off any remaining MLF bacteria. Only targets gram-positive bacteria such as Lacto-bacillus (not Acetobacter).
    • Prevents unfavorable interaction of sorbate and MLF bacteria (can cause geranium taint). Must be applied one week before sorbate and sweetening.
    • Use 1.5g/gal hydrated in 10 times its weight in water. Allow to sit for 45 mins.
    • Do not stir too aggressively to avoid foaming. Stir into wine gently but thoroughly.
    • To calculate 10 times a product’s weight in water:
      • Take amount in grams (Y) and multiply times ten (Y x 10=Z)
      • Then take Z (in grams) and use an online calculator to convert into pounds.
      • Then take Z in lbs and divide by the weight of one gallon of water (Z/8.2 =A) A will be the amount of water needed to hydrate the product.
    • Sorbate:
      • Potassium Sorbate will help prevent yeast from reproducing and refermenting the newly introduced back sweetening sugar.
      • Make sure wine has been thoroughly racked and clarified before applying sorbate.
      • Use 1gram/gallon and dissolve in warm water.
    • Sulfite:
      • It is important to ensure that your sulfite level is up to the suggested ppm for that varietal, contingent on that wine’s pH value.
      • Use the sulfite calculator on Winemaker Magazine’s website to determine the correct sulfite concentration contingent upon your wine’s pH.
    • Fructose:
      • Fructose is the primary sugar found in fruits such as grapes, that is the best for back sweetening to provide a natural sweetness to the finished wine.
      • Bench trials should be conducted to discern the level of sweetness preferred by the winemaker.
      • Please see the attached sheet for back sweetening bench trial protocols. Once a level has been determined, use the following equation to determine the amount of fructose to be added.
        • Amount of gallons x 8.2lbs/gallon = X (weight of wine)
        • Use X multiplied by the percentage of residual sugar desired will yield the amount of fructose needed.
          • Ex: 100 gallons x 8.2lbs/gal = 820lbs x 2% RS (.02)=16.4lbs of fructose needed.
        • Dissolve the sugar in as little hot water as possible. Mix into the wine via vigorous stirring or during a pump over.

White Wine

  • Sorbate:
    • Potassium Sorbate will help prevent yeast from reproducing and refermenting the newly introduced back sweetening sugar.
    • Make sure wine has been thoroughly racked and clarified before applying sorbate.
    • Use 1gram/gallon and dissolve in warm water.
  • Sulfite:
    • It is important to ensure that your sulfite level is up to the suggested ppm for that varietal, contingent on that wine’s pH value.
    • Use the sulfite calculator on Winemaker Magazine’s website to determine the correct sulfite concentration contingent upon your wine’s pH.
  • Fructose:
    • Fructose is the primary sugar found in fruits such as grapes that is the best for back sweetening to provide a natural sweetness to the finished wine.
    • Bench trials should be conducted to discern the level of sweetness preferred by the winemaker.
    • Please see the attached sheet for back sweetening bench trial protocols. Once a level has been determined, use the following equation to determine the amount of fructose to be added.
    • Amount of gallons x 8.2lbs/gallon = X (weight of wine), Use X multiplied by the percentage of residual sugar desired will yield the amount of fructose needed.
      • Ex: 100 gallons x 8.2lbs/gal = 820lbs x 2% RS (.02)=16.4lbs of fructose needed.
    • Dissolve the sugar in as little hot water as possible. Mix into the wine via vigorous stirring or during a pump over.

 

Bench Trials for Back Sweetening

  • Preparation of solution for bench trials:
    • Dissolve 40gm of Fructose into distilled water so final volume is 200ml
    • 100ml of solution contains 20gm Fructose which will raise RS of a gallon of wine by 1%

 

Bench testing:

  • 50ml sample:
    • 13ml = 0.1%
    • 65 ml = 0.5%
    • 3ml = 1.0%
  • 100ml sample:
    • 26ml = 0.1%
    • 3 ml = 0.5%
    • 6ml = 1.0%
  • 375ml sample:
    • 0ml = 0.1%
    • 0 ml = 0.5%
    • 0ml = 1.0%
  • 750ml sample:
    • 0ml = 0.1%
    • 0 ml = 0.5%
    • 0ml = 1.0%