I need help increasing my SG on my first blueberry wine

Jul 23, 2004 2 Replies

I ended up doing a 5.5gal batch of blueberry wine. In order to make it easier I will list what I did by the gallon


1 gallon Blueberry wine


4.75 lbs blueberries .75 lb of sugar added water to top off various chemicals (pectic, nutrient, 1 camp tablet)



I had a hard time measuring the gravity due to the fruit pulp. But I tried a few different things, and got the same value.



My SG measured 1.050



Before I add yeast tommorow, I have to go to the store to get some sugar and rasins.



I can assume 1lb of sugar per gallon will bring my gravity up to 1.095.



What will the rasins add? I am guessing I would like to add 1/2 lb per gallon Is there sugar in the fruit that wasn't fully crushed that I am not measuring?


Blueberries are about 11% sugar. If you crushed them well most (but not all) of the sugar will have gone into solution. The sugar that did not will cause a small error in your calculations. Maybe 5 to 10 G low. But then there are non-fermentable solutes that will cause your reading to be high by

5 to 10 G. So with any luck these may balance out. Country wines are not an exact science.

If I understand you correctly you started at an SG of 1.050 and you would have liked to start at 1.095. Okay, when you add the sugar you should take a SG reading and the add enough to raise it by 45 G. What I do is calculate how much sugar this will be using a chart, then add a little less. Check the SG. Then add enough to bring it on up. I trust my hydrometer more than the calculations which have got me in trouble in the past.

Ray

I would add to Ray's input that when adding your sugar, dilute with a wee bit of water, cook it up to dissolve, and then add it to your must once it has cooled to lukewarm. Makes your SG reading more accurate. The question about sugar amount... this is a general rule of thumb: "Two ounces of sugar will raise one gallon of wine by .005. So, for 5 gallons you would need 10oz for an increase of .005 (x 4.5 will raise your must by an sg reading of .045 as you want).

The raisins would add tannin, balance - as grapes are the only complete fruit for winemaking....

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