Peach Mango wine from Jack's recipe - needs sweetener

I agree. Adding sugar can cause a little harshness. I note it as being a little bitter. It does seem to go away with a minimum of aging (a few months as most).

I recomend sweetening it to taste and adjusting the acidity to match if necessary. Then stabilize it with sorbate. Let it set for a few weeks or a month to be sure that it is not going to start fermenting again. Then bottle and let it age in bottle for at least one or two months.

An alternative would be to sweeten with a good light honey. Honeyed wine was the rage in Greek and Roman times. It works today as well.

Ray

Hmm. So I should unbottle - never did that before. I use a hose, put into a carboy, sweeten to taste stabilize w/sorbate then bottle - like

Hmm. So I should unbottle - never did that before. I use a hose, put into a carboy, sweeten to taste stabilize w/sorbate then bottle - like

No, No, No! Don't unbottle. You asked about alternate methods and I was suggesting some. What you have done is fine and violates no "LAWS OF WINEMAKING". It will probably mellow out very nicely in a few months. Just keep my suggestions in the back of your mind for next time. By then you will be able to assess what you have done this time.

Ray

Dang I moved faster than I read replies. I unbottled, sweetened, added Sorbate, and rebottled. THIS time when I bottled it tasted like I'd like it to taste. I have learned (am learning?) how to "taste" the wines now and know what I am looking for. This was a small batch - only 14 bottles. So 14 new corks and I was done. smile.

Ray, and all. thanks for the info. I am learning real nicely by reading all the threads on this newsgroup. thanks. DAve p.s. My first wine tasting party is in early May. I will have: Mango Blanc (my own recipe based loosely on some at Jack's site - this turned out sparkling wine and very nice, though I didn't mean to make it sparkling) Cranberry (took 3 years to come around, but now is pretty good.) Pumpkin - this I will need to serve/blend with 40-50% Chenin Blanc to liven it up) Chenin Blanc - though it tastes nothing like Chenin Blanc, it's great. I built this from Sun Valley juice. Chardonnay - from Sun Valley juice also. Deepest gold I've ever seen. Cab Sauv. - tastes good, but is very weak colored. Doesn't taste like a full Cab - but is good. Kit wines: Riesling Ice Wine Cab Franc Ice Wine Shiraz-Cab (kit Shiraz that I blended 18% Cab prior to bottling to build it up some - it's wonderful) Super Tuscan - I try the first bottle next weekend. Niagra Mist Cranberry Shiraz Island Mist Mango Citrus Symphony Pinot Gris (to die for, I hate sharing this) Port Syrah my Pinot Noirs oxidized and went bad within a couple months - I know what I did wrong (per WinExpert) but will have none for this tasting.

More non-kits - but not ready: Apple Cider wine and Strawberry wine are not ready to drink until June, so they won't be on the list. Papaya, Blueberry, and the Peach Mango mentioned below also are ready in the summer.

What a great hobby.

Ray Calvert wrote:

Then you did exactly what you should have done. What ever works best for you regardless of what ANYONE says.

Sounds like you have amassed quite a cellar. Good luck on the party.

Ray

You said you blended your shiraz with a cabernet to build it up a bit. I might do the same I've just got 5 gallons of Heron Bay Shiraz about ready to bottle. It tastes good, but a little short on body. I don't have a cabernet to blend with, but perhaps a couple of bottles from the supermarket might add some body......Is this a good idea?

John

well, I can tell you what I did.

I added 18% store bought Cab Sauv. (not even expensive, it was $7 or $8 a bottle) and it is now a very good blended wine. I took four glasses, and measured proportion to get to 5%, 10% and 15% and 50%. Tasting as I went, when I got to 15%, it was good. But when I was mixing, I put whole bottles in the carboy and ended up with 18% roughly I figured.

Let it sit for another 48 hours and see if it's cloudy. I waited because I have found when you blend, sometimes you get cloudiness. So waiting a couple days to see if you did or not. In this case, I did not. Other times I've had to add clearing agents after I added the store bought wine - not sure why this happens, just from my experience.

that's what I did.

DAve

JR wrote: