Re: Gewürztraminer

Aug 24, 2005 2 Replies

And by the way, I think you'll find the "real thing" is definitely in the juice and not the concentrate. Gewurz is largely finished off-dry but I personally like it it dry or just with bare bones residual sugar.


Patrick McDonald



Any hints, suggestions or ideas for making Gewürztraminer from fresh juice for the first time? I'm used to kits where I have very specific instructions. Is there a recipe I should follow for the Gewürztraminer? I'm looking for answers to questions such as... What should the inital SG be? If the SG is low - what should I use to sweeten it? (Table sugar? Corn sugar?) What about acidity? Should I buy an acid test kit? What inital acid readings should Gewürztraminer juice have?



Incidentally, I have 2 cases of Gewürztraminer in bottles, made from a Winexpert Selection kit, so I can compare the kit wine to the "real thing" when both have been aged.


You don't want to make plans for adding acid until you stabilize the acid that is in there. If there is enough to crystallize out maybe it will not need more. You emphasize bone dry almost as if it is a fault. Is this part of what you are wanting to finish? If you do sweeten it slightly, I would recommend honey rather than sugar. It complements the Gewürztraminer.

Ray

The main con I can think of is that acid blend contains malic acid. If the wine has already finished ML, adding acid blend may very well start that going again.

Best to stick to tartaric, and get that in as close to the start of fermentation as you can. Adding tartaric late can cause cold instability in the wine.

If adjusting just before bottling, citric acid may be best.

Tom S

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