Sweet Red Wine

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A sweet red wine could be almost anything. Any red wine from Cabernet to Pomegranate to whatever could be made as a sweet wine by chaptilizing (adding sugar before fermentation) or backsweetening (adding sugar post-fermentation).

Greg G.

at:

Here is a specific one with easy to find juice.

Joe

As I understand it, chapitalization is the addition of sugar DURING fermentation. It increases the alsohol content of the wine but does not make it saweeter unless more sugar than the yeast can handle is added.

Sweetening post-fermentation is the easiest route. Make a red wine, do not go thru MLF, add sulfite and sorbate, then sweeten as desired.

Steve

Actually, chaptalization is normally performed prior to fermentation. You are right... the objective is normally to increase the sugar level of the must in order to increase the alcohol level. However, if you add enough sugar to achieve a much higher alcohol level... let's say

20%, but you select a yeast with an alcohol threshold of say 14%, then you should end up with a semi-sweet or sweet wine. If I was inclined to do the math, I could tell you how much residual sugar would remain.

This is the approach I normally use to make an off-dry, semi-sweet, or dessert wine. I don't like using sorbate and I find if I backsweeten I often end up with a renewed fermentation.

Greg

Greg

I have two problems with sorbate.

1) It's not 100% reliable at stopping fermentation. At least not when used in the recommended quantities. If you sweeten after adding sorbate and fermentation does restart, it can drag on for years, literally. Believe me, I've seen this first hand.

2) Sorbate can impart a strange artificial flavor on a beverage. Not everyone can taste this, but I can and I don't like it.

Since I tossed the sorbate, I've had no problems at all with renewed fermentation. Calculating the sugar needed up front or at the end of the process is easy to do and my end results (off-dry, semi-sweet, etc.) have been exactly what I was shooting for.

Greg